Equestria 101
by Megazord Master
Summary: A Reader's companion to Rangers of Equestria. Presented by Billy, Celestia, Luna and others. Bounces along the timeline merrily.
1. Geography

Disclaimer: My Little Pony and Power Rangers aren't mine. Just a small series of one shots about the geography of Equestria and where everything is in relation to everywhere else...and how everything works. And I should stop allowing Pinkie Pie in my sanctum…enjoy.

Equestria 101 – Geography

"Wait…What?"

Billy blinked once and then shook his head in disbelief. He inhaled deeply and shook his head once more. Looking at the midnight blue alicorn in front of him, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"All right, one more time?"

Princess Luna held a hoof over her mouth and giggled. She and Celestia had spent the past few hours trying to explain to Billy the geography of Equestria, but the poor human kept unintentionally confusing himself. She supposed it would be confusing to one who wasn't born in Equestria, but Dimitria seemed to have no problem with it. Seeing Billy's look, she composed herself and snuck a quick glance at Celestia. Her sister was lightly snoozing in a corner seeing as she had to raise the sun in the morning. Placing a hoof on the map in front of her, she launched into her explanation again.

"This is a map of Equestria. The largest landmass near the top is the continent of Equestria. Before you ask again, we named the continent Equestria first and a few centuries later somepony gave the name to the world at large. Equestria is home to Canterlot, the Everfree Forest and the Elements of Harmony. The fauna is rich and diverse, although many species come from other lands."

At Billy's nod, she moved her hoof to one of the large bodies of water and tapped it.

"This is the Aqua Vitae Sea. All of Equestria's water comes from this source and we have the pegasi and Earth ponies run it through a series of soil, rock and cloud filters. Unicorns are commissioned by my sister to gather fish and deposit them into various catchment dams so animals do not have to walk to the coast."

Moving her hoof again, she tapped a small island filled with volcanos. Suppressing a shudder, she continued.

"This is the land of Draconis. It is surrounded by the Aqua Regia Sea which is in a constant state of turmoil. The land is full of constantly erupting volcanos and is swarming with dragon families vying for power. Legends say a powerful artefact from the Discord Age is hidden there, but nopony has ever ventured forth to find it. The griffons also live there, but they are nomadic creatures that live anywhere. Weather control is done by pegasi who have strong relationships with the dragons."

Billy ran a hand down his face and nodded again. He needed to know the geography and layout of the land for any tactical advantage. Knowing Zedd, a monster would probably be sent down in Draconis…and be vaporised within microseconds. Nodding again, he motioned Luna to continue.

"The last landmass is the second largest on Equestria. It is called Deinos Terra Firma; the firm and terrible land. It is a mostly barren land with no mountains or forests. Its is the current prison of Discord, a terrible creature whose sole purpose was chaos, madness and death. The largest lake is called the Aqua Fortis Lake and is connected to the Aqua Vitae Sea by underground channels. One of the sea serpents in the Everfree Forest came from there. Legend says that when Discord is freed, he will awaken a terrible beast that can only be defeated by an Accepted soul, whatever that means. And that concludes the tour of Equestria…for the fifth time."

Billy weakly smiled. He was sure that everything would sink in eventually. Luna trotted next to him and looked at him, concern evident in her voice.

"Your enemy won't attack outside of Equestria. You can be sure of that."

Billy nodded once and fished his cracked Morpher from his pocket. He hoped that was the case, but he doubted it.

TBC…


	2. Discord

A/N: Usual drill. Read, review and send me stuff to keep Pinkie out of my sanctum!

Equestria 101 – Discord

"You wanted to see me, Billy?"

The former Blue Ranger looked up from the papers at the white alicorn and nodded. After Luna's geography lesson the day before, he had been poring over whatever information he could find about Discord. If Zedd found and freed him…it wouldn't be good news. The problem was, the reports and historical records only mentioned Discord's reign in passing. He needed to know what it was like during that time so he could properly prepare. Unfortunately, asking Luna was out as she had been imprisoned on the moon and had very fuzzy memories of Discord, so he had to ask Princess Celestia. After all, she had been the one to ultimately defeat him. Nodding to the alicorn, he spoke.

"I wanted to ask you about Discord and his reign. Was he as bad as the historical records say?"

Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. She knew eventually the curious human would ask these questions and she knew the reasoning behind them. She thought about dismissing the question, but realised that withholding the information could prove dangerous in the long run.

"Discord rose up about a hundred years after I had imprisoned Nightmare Moon. He had amassed a large number of followers and they overthrew me. I gathered up the Elements of Harmony and fled deep into the Everfree Forest and into the outpost Luna and I had set up years before. I was kept in the loop by one of my loyal friends, who had infiltrated Discord's inner circle."

Flashback

_Celestia paced the room impatiently. Discord's reign had gone on unchecked for three months and ponies everywhere were suffering. Shining Light had sent her a message saying that blood was running freely in the streets and that she would be going into the Everfree Forest on patrol duty. Apparently Discord thought that the Ursas, manticores and hydras would rise up against him…which would be a viable option if they actually had some sort of intelligence beside primal instincts. Sighing wistfully, she glanced to the podium where the Elements of Harmony were in their rocklike states. Their powers could still be used by her, but she had a feeling they had chosen their future bearers. She was shaken out of her musings by the sound of galloping hooves. Lowering her head in defence, she faced the door and charged her horn._

"_Celestia, it's me."_

_The Princess relaxed as a familiar voice rang out. Slowly, a light brown Earth pony with a white appeared in the archway. On her head was the silver and black Circlet of Discord, a token of extreme loyalty and trust to those handpicked by Discord himself._

_End Flashback_

"Shining Light was my only true friend during those six months. She was a member of the Eyes of Discord: the ponies that saw the chaos and destruction and reported it directly to Discord. What he never knew was that she was also reporting it to me."

Billy listened in silent fascination. His eyes suddenly widened as a fragment of Celestia's tale came back to him.

"Three months? The records make it seem that Discord ruled for much longer."

Celestia nodded her head gravely. She could not lie to Billy as he needed to know this for the future. He had already done so much for them. It was the least she could do.

"Discord had a strange ability to slow down time. As far as I know, that ability was stripped from him when he was sealed. In the Everfree Forest, I was exempt from his abilities, so while it was only three months for me…it was thirty years. Goodness, when Discord moved away, everypony was so confused for a week!"

Smiling at the Princess, Billy motioned for her to continue. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luna enter the room with saddlebags of rolled parchments. He also saw the alicorn Princess stop short and listen at the mouth of the door. Celestia gazed into the mists of the past and continued.

"But anyway, when Shining Light came to see me one day, she brought news that was both good…and horrific."

_Flashback_

_Celestia neck hugged her friend and looked her over. Small scrapes dotted the brown fur and her hooves were chipped. Shaking her head, she smiled softly at Shining Light and nodded once – her sign for her friend to talk._

"_Discord has moved his base of operations from Canterlot. The palace is free from his influence and many of the ponies there have been lifted from his sway. I was only just able to slip away by 'accidentally' falling off a steep cliff."_

_Balancing on her hind legs, Shining Light reached up and removed the Circlet of Discord from her head and placed it on the stone floor. Summoning up her strength, she drover her hooves down on the obsidian band – utterly shattering it. Celestia drew in a sharp breath as the evil magic escaped from the Circlet. She looked on the smoking remains with some trepidation._

"_He will know you have betrayed him and he will come here. Shining Light, what have you done?"_

_The young pony looked up at her friend seeing all the fear, hurt and anxiety on her ageless face and smiled. It was time to inform her friend about Discord's destination._

"_My friend, Discord will not be coming. He has left Equestria and has moved to Deinos Terra Firma. There is no escape for him. You can defeat him!"_

_Celestia sighed and felt some of the weight lift off her shoulders. She glanced at the Elements of Harmony and murmured an ancient prayer under her breath. History had eroded its name away, but she knew it as the Guiding Spark. Deinos Terra Firma…a barren land that only the Zebra clans thrived on and all other forms of life perished in._

_End Flashback_

"With the Elements, I knew I could survive. Three months later, I marched on Deinos Terra Firma with an army of thousands. Many perished in the blazing heat and scores more fell to Discord's machinations. The records state how I used the Elements one last time to strip Discord of his abilities and seal him in a stone prison. But Shining Light…"

A single tear dripped from her eyes as he swallowed the unfathomably large lump in her throat. She shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled faintly at Billy, noticing Luna at the door. Her voice was kind and gentle, but held an undercurrent of deep sadness.

"You needn't concern yourself with what happened to her. She survived…is still surviving to this day. Anyway, I see Luna is here to bring you up to speed on your plans. I hope this has been of help to you."

With a quick bow of her head, Princess Celestia all but fled from the room. She heard Billy and Luna murmuring to each other, but did not stop until she reached her chambers. Staring up at the sun, she whispered to the empty air.

"Shining Light…Acceptance will free your soul."

TBC…


	3. Forever Friends

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and My Little Pony aren't mine. Expect lots of time skips in this story. Takes place directly after Remembrance. Slight angst in this chapter…which means lots of it. Read and review!

Equestria 101 – Forever Friends

Billy stepped back in the chamber, grimacing as his clothes dripped water down his back. It had been refreshing to relax for a short while in the lake and rant out loud. For a brief moment, he wondered what he would do when Zedd was defeated but dismissed the thought. The ship was still locked in storage and was still good for a one way trip. As he walked down the hall to the Zord Hangar, he heard excited chatter coming from the direction of the Rangers' quarters. Since Ponyville – and by extension their homes – was mostly a smoking wreck, they would live in the Command Tower until it was rebuilt.

Passing on, he stepped into his own quarters for a quick change of clothes. Pulling a dry shirt over his head, he looked at the two pictures on his table. One was of his father and him taken a few weeks before the arrival of Master Vile. He smiled fondly at the memory and glanced over at the other picture. In it, he was surrounded by all six unmorphed Zeo Rangers in the Power Chamber. In the background, he could see the bottom of Zordon's tube and Alpha 5. He remembered that day well as it had been exactly one day before his aging had started. He reached a hand out to the picture and stopped short as he heard soft complaining from the hall. Looking outside, he saw one of the new Rangers walk by – a white unicorn with a purple mane. Whatever she was complaining about, judging from her tome, was a regular occurrence.

"I know we've just had an amazing experience, but I need my beauty sleep and once again they are talking! Why, I don't even think any other teams have been so excited in the past!"

Chuckling to himself, he replied in a jovial tone.

"Actually, we all have had some element of celebration when we received new powers."

The unicorn jumped at the sound of his voice and spun around. Billy searched his memory for her name and snuck a quick glance at the image on her hind legs. Seeing the diamonds, he smiled to himself and continued.

"Rarity, to celebrate after the first morph is what being a Power Ranger is all about. To chatter amongst your team after the Power has accepted you is the right thing to do."

Rarity walked towards the human, much of her earlier annoyance gone. She wondered how many battles he had been in, how many celebrations and how many…well, she didn't want to think about that. Stifling a yawn, she glanced back down the hall where she could hear her friends talking. Turning back to Billy, her mind foggy from tiredness, she blurted out the first thought that came to mind.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Billy blinked once and Rarity felt her face redden. She tried to stammer out an apology, but he held up a hand.

"I know what you were trying to say. You are more than welcome to sleep in my room"

Billy stepped aside and let the embarrassed unicorn pass him. He gazed down the hall to the Hangar longingly, but reminded himself that he could slip out once Rarity was asleep. He shook his head once and went back into his room. Closing the door and leaning against it, he noticed Rarity had seen the pictures and were looking at them. She noticed his look and let out a chuckle.

"Oh, don't mind me. I was just looking at them and it is amazing how young you look in them! I'd guess that they were taken a few years ago!"

Billy smothered a grin. The de-aging process on Aquitar had worked a little too well in his opinion. Regular baths in The Eternal Falls had slowed down his aging drastically. If he remembered correctly, Delphine stated that he would live up to three hundred years…which had stunned him into speechlessness for a few hours. Explaining to a unicorn would be a bit of a feat, so he just smiled and nodded to her.

"Who are these people?"

Billy glanced at the picture and smiled again. If he could, he would bring all of them over to Equestria. Reconciling Kim with Tommy would be hard but it could be done. Chuckling lightly to himself, he answered Rarity's question with a wistful tone in his voice.

"Those were my very close friends a few years ago. Much like you, they wielded the power of the Zeo Crystals against a powerful enemy. When I was leaving my dimension, I gathered up the Crystals as my friends do not need the power anymore."

Rarity nodded entranced by the explanation as Billy kept going.

"The one in Red is Tommy Oliver. He's a great fighter and was interested in all sorts of martial arts. Last I heard, he was a teacher and a mentor to his own Ranger team; or something like that. Him becoming a teacher was completely an out of character moment. The blonde haired girl on his right is Kat Hillard, Tommy's girlfriend at the time. She was the Pink Zeo Ranger. I'm not sure if those two are still together. Adam was, like yourself, the Green Ranger. He was very shy and reserved; much like your yellow Pegasus friend. He was interested in Tanya, the Yellow Ranger and the feeling was mutual."

Rarity drank in the information as she looked on the alien faces…which were similar to Billy's own yet very different. She could hear the sadness and longing in Billy's voice, as if the friends were far away or were…no more. She was barely aware of him saying something about a Rocky and a Jason, but all his words seemed to blend until there was just the tone left.

"You really miss them, don't you?"

Billy's head jerked up at her voice as tears leapt to his eyes. Tears unshed after the remembrance of Cestria flooded his eyes but he blinked them back. Crying in front of the composed unicorn wasn't something he felt comfortable with doing just yet. After a moment of composure, he spoke with a heavy heart.

"I would give anything to have them here. Friendships like those don't vanish in an instant."

"If you had the choice to be with them forever or stay here in Equestria, what would you choose?"

He blinked the fog from his mind and thought hard. After a year in Equestria, he had learnt so much and still had miles to go. In his home dimension, he was pushing the boundaries of what there was to learn – even with his starting studies in magic…but his friends were there. His home was there. His species was there. Staying here, he was surrounded by sentient ponies with varying species and talents. Without some sort of spell or the cover of darkness, he wouldn't be able to roam outside Canterlot Tower freely. The ponies would all run from him or fear him in some way.

But the Rangers were here.

His friends could look after themselves. They had a wealth of power and experience to draw upon and could easily band together in times on danger. These ponies…couldn't. He was the only one with battle experience and a tactical mind. He was their mentor, their mechanic, their inventor, their brains…

He shook his head once and looked Rarity in the eye.

"I would give anything to be with them again…"

Rarity nodded once and turned her head, not wanting the human to see her eyes starting to water.

"But if I was with them, I wouldn't be here with you. With all of you. My life would be completely different with my old friends."

She lifted her head and flicked her tail in anticipation and excitement.

"I wouldn't be here, with my new friends."

TBC…


	4. Secrets

Pinkie Note: Still here! Chapter will reference stuff to come later! Enjoy! Short note from me as he's about to go home and I can't type without him as my hooves aren't suited to keyboards. Enjoy everypony!

Equestria 101 – Secrets

Billy held the tools nervously above the two crystals. One his left was the Red Zeo Crystal and on his right was the Element of Honesty. The Element had been carefully pried from its metal housing and was giving off a soft orange glow. Holding his breath, he carefully sliced a small sliver off the Red Zeo crystal and placed it near the Element. A muted flare of red later left him speechless, but with a triumphant look on his face.

Slumping back onto the specially crafted chair, the former Ranger wiped his brow and heaved a great sigh. Six months had passed since he had come to Equestria. Six months since Princess Celestia had given him this space to work on the Ranger Powers. Six months since Dimitria herself had informed him about the possible ramifications on combining the mystical power of the Zeo Crystal with the biologically attuned raw magic of the Elements.

The disease that he had seen in Zordon's files would have been far simpler to treat. Morphin Madness could be cleansed with a greater power source or by a Morphin Master. Immortality on the other hand…well, that was a whole other kettle of fish. He was aware that the two Princesses had a Golden Apple tree in Canterlot which was the source of their immortality. If only the Norse pagans knew that their stories about it were true.

He would have to tell the Princesses about it.

Dimitria had told him not to mention it to them unless he deemed it necessary. Since the flipside was no Rangers and the destruction of Equestria, he was sure that Dimitria would understand. Of course given Dimitria's study of equine magic, she couldn't be found anywhere but Canterlot Library.

"Dimitria? Could you please come to the Outpost with Celestia? It's time."

Of course, the communicators helped with the distance factor. And the whole issue with him stepping foot in Canterlot without mass panic. A crackle of energy caused him to turn around just in time to see Dimitria and Princess Celestia materialise from their teleportation beams. He had to stifle a grin at the discomfort he saw on the regal alicorn's face. While she knew speed was of utmost importance, he knew she would have rather used her wings like she did at night. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day and the Royal Court was due to start in a few hours. Composing himself, he inhaled deeply to begin his explanation…before being interrupted by Celestia.

"Billy, from what Dimitria has told me, there is something dire you wish to tell me. Could you please tell me what it is?"

Billy cleared his throat nervously and snuck a quick glance to the crystals behind him. It wouldn't do any good trying to beat around the bush around Celestia.

"The Ranger powers will grant the Rangers immortality."

There. It was out in the open and there was no taking it back now. Billy studied Celestia's face and tried to pick out her emotions, but the stoic face gave no indication. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Celestia's mouth quirked upward.

"Oh, is that it?"

Billy blinked and sat down hard. He had been ready to present information and research and arguments…and it was all rapidly escaping him with those three small words. Even Dimitria looked shocked – as shocked as she could with the veil over the lower half of her face. Seeing their confusion, Celestia hid a grin behind a hoof and spoke.

"Finding the Elements of Harmony would grant anypony an extended lifespan. Merging with the Elements gave them extra centuries of life and using the Elements against Luna practically made them immortal anyway."

Billy felt his jaw drop to his knees as he digested the information. Using the Elements of Harmony had made the ponies practically immortal. They could still be hurt and enspelled, but they would never die. Chewing his lip thoughtfully, he made a snap decision then and there.

"We won't tell them. Not until the time is right."

Celestia's head jerked up in surprise. In all her years, she knew that keeping secrets from ponies was never a good thing. On the other hoof, it would be less of a burden on them to know what the Elements and Ranger Powers would do to their bodies. On the proverbial third hoof, it would probably come back to bite them all in the rump eventually. Closing her eyes, she sighed in agreement.

"It is for the best that they don't know."

TBC…


	5. Edward

Disclaimer: Don't own anything here. Move on and enjoy.

Equestria 101 – Edward

"Are you sure you have everything ready? The Sensei's from the Wind and Thunder Academies have given you the wreckage? The Zeo Crystals are all sealed up and ready and you have…oh, I'm babbling aren't I?"

Billy paused his packing and stared at the brown haired man in front of him, allowing a small smile to creep over his face. The shuttle was in the final stages of loading and was due to travel to Equestria in two hours. Dimitria had already gone on ahead via an over-complicated system of energy capsuling was presumably preparing for his arrival. So, he was left with seven tonnes of Zord scraps, one of the most advanced shuttles ever constructed and an over anxious and panicking former overlord.

In a strange sort of way, it was almost ironic. When he had been under the control of his other self, Lord Zedd had always wanted to get rid of the brains of the team – maybe even more so than taking out Tommy – and now Billy was leaving for good. Quietly picking up one of the books, Edward made a face at the cover and shook his head. Billy was throwing anything and everything he could into one large bag and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Privately, Edward marvelled at the amount of things that the bag could hold despite its small size. As he shook his head to calm his nerves, his eyes widened as he saw a familiar shape on Billy's table.

"Billy, why are you taking your Morpher?"

Billy paused in his packing, his hand clutching a copy of an old Eltarian grimoire, and averted his eyes from Edward's prying stare. He remembered his discussions with Edward and Dimitria about whether it would be safe for him to take along his Power Morpher and Ninja Power Coin. The lack of a stable Morphin Grid on Equestria wouldn't be a problem for the created Rangers, as they would run on the limitless power from the Zeo Crystals, but it would cause headaches for him if he tried morphing. Well, it would cause more than headaches and would probably destroy his body bit by bit if he didn't have a suitable magical source to charge from. Dropping the grimoire into his bag, he walked over to his Morpher and picked it up.

The once gleaming device looked dulled and rust collected on the metal plates. The image on the coin was obscured by a thick layer of dust and ash and had a large crack running through it. Slightly shaking, he reached with his thumb and pressed the red button on the side. With a barely audible screech, both halves roughly slid open and revealed the red interior. There was a faint spark of blue…and nothing else. No rush of power, no materialisation of the familiar blue armour and no connection to the Universal Morphin Grid. Without the traditional call phrases, this non-effect was to be expected.

Pushing the two halves together once more, Billy ran his thumb across the obscured image and sighed deeply. Logic decreed that he shouldn't have to bring it along as there would be no major threats to Equestria until Zedd's essence broke the dimensional barrier. His gut told him that he would need it in the future as if the Rangers fell – even temporarily – he would be the last line of defence. He turned and looked at Edward, seeing for the first time the lines of worry that ran across the man's face.

"I'm taking it because my gut tells me that I'll need it in the future."

Edward knew it was a shaky excuse at best, but Billy didn't seem to care. If Billy thought he needed it then he would bring it no matter what Edward said. The growing unease in Edward's gut confirmed his suspicions that Billy would need protection…no matter how temporary it may be. After seeing Billy potter about aimlessly, he cleared his throat.

"There is one other thing that you must know about Zedd."

Billy's head turned and he stared at the former overlord quizzically.

"When he breaks through the dimensional barrier, he will have to find a suitable host to merge with in order to have a physical form. He will consume the unwilling donor and reject everything that does not suit him. What is left behind may die but it also has a slim chance of reforming into a twisted shadow of its former self."

Billy nodded absentmindedly, his mind storing the information for future use. He replied in a dazed tone of voice.

"Got it. Zedd needs to merge with something to get a body and what's left will become a new body. Got it."

Edward slapped a hand on his face and groaned. He knew Billy was internalising all the information, but wished that the Ranger would actually listen.

"Zedd's power is also linked to the size of his army and whatever strength they possess."

That got his attention. Billy dropped his Morpher with a clatter and whirled on the former evil lord. His eyes held an intense look in them and his voice was strained with both excitement and anxiety.

"What did you say?"

"The size of Zedd's power influences his magic ability. One follower may only provide enough power for one non-growing monster and a small set of rudimentary foot soldiers. The stronger the follower, the stronger the magic and the greater the influence Zedd will have over his subordinates."

Billy nodded once and picked up his Morpher from the tiled floor. Placing the last of his belongings into his bag, he looked at the former overlord and allowed a small smile to creep over his face. He extended his left arm to Edward. The former lord looked at Billy's arm and hesitatingly extended his right, clasping his hand around the Ranger's forearm. Billy looked Edward in the eye and spoke in a voice that spoke volumes.

"Thank you for your advice, Edward. I doubt I'll ever set foot on Earth again, but can you please thank your wife for being the one to start off this whole crazy mess?"

Edward's throat tightened up as he heard those words and nodded. Those words would warm Rita's heart and even cause her to tear up. As he released the young man's arm and watched him exit the room, he whispered to the empty room which expressed his deep gratitude.

"Thank you, Blue Ranger, for forgiving the unforgivable."

TBC…


	6. Those Left Behind

Disclaimer: Usual stuff. Enjoy!

Equestria 101 – Those Left Behind

Far from Equestria, in a different dimension, a gathering was taking place. A gathering place was decorated with banners, lights and balloons and voices were cheering from within. In a corner, far from the celebration stood a group of five. Their voices were drowned out by the noise, but they were able to hear each other just fine.

"Has there been any official word?"

Tommy Oliver shook his head sadly. The news had come in the night suddenly and unexpectedly. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice grim.

"No official word. It all happened so fast. If Justin hadn't been there…"

Heads hung in sorrow as tears dripped from eyes in direct contrast to the wild partying going on around them. There was no denying the facts. Aisha Campbell was dead, taken from them too soon by a strange twist of fate. His wife stood next to him with a hand on his shoulder and spoke through her tears.

"You couldn't predict what would happen. No one could. I'm sure Billy could but…"

Kimberley let the words trail off as she thought of her other missing friend. Unlike Aisha, he was still alive as far as they knew…just beyond their reach. The thought that he was up there on Aquitar, completely cut off from his friends made her heart ache…even more so when she realised he hadn't seen her reconciliation with Tommy or their lavish wedding – where they had tried to incorporate every single Ranger colour without looking like an explosion at a paint factory. Needless to say, it hadn't gone over well with a lot of the families until the Space Rangers had shown up.

That all paled in comparison to the bombshell that had been dropped on them a few hours ago. Apparently Aisha had been in Auckland for business and had run into Justin, who she had met a few years ago during a Ranger get-together. Literally five minutes later, they had been attacked by the newest breed of evil to attack the planet – the Nighlok. It had been a fairly routine attack with the grunts doing most of the scaring and roughing up before the monster of the day had appeared. As former Rangers were prone to doing, they rushed in without morphing and had been beaten back. Justin had apparently ducked behind some debris to morph into the Blue Turbo Ranger and had seen the monster explode in an apparent suicide attack. Aisha had been in the blast radius and hadn't morphed into her Ninjetti form. In retrospect, the cloth uniform wouldn't have provided much protection, but it would have kept her alive long enough to get her to safety.

The next thing Justin knew, he was being restrained by the Green and Gold Samurai Rangers as the others took care of the remaining grunts. Shrugging out of the Rangers' grips, he had found a safe place to demorph and had used his communicator to contact Tommy. During the call, another monster showed up and almost defeated the Samurai Rangers. Frustrated, Justin had morphed, whipped out his Hand Blasters and destroyed the monster on his own before viciously lecturing the downed Samurai Rangers. Last Kim had heard, Justin had tracked them down to their base and continued lecturing them.

All heads were bowed in solemn remembrance of their fallen and missing friends. The one in Red slowly shook his head, but let out a startled yelp as his hands began glowing faintly. All eyes went to him and to his hands and said eyes widened in shock and amazement…except one pair. The owner of the eyes knew what the glow meant and he felt his heart grow a thousand times heavier for that. His hands started glowing as well and he felt a small sliver of power rush through his body. He closed his eyes as a mark of respect and said a Korean prayer under his breath.

"Adam? What's all this about?"

Adam Park raised his head and let his gaze sweep his friends. Out of the five that were there, only the hands of Rocky, Tommy, Kimberly and himself were glowing. Shooting a quick look at his wife, he sighed and spoke.

"Just a theory I learnt from Billy a while back. This hand glowing thing only happens when one's connection to the grid is permanently severed either by destruction of the coin…or by death."

Kim swallowed hard, but saw that the hands of Adam's wife weren't glowing. Cocking her head to one side, she asked why. Adam sighed again and was about to speak when Tommy's phone rang. Motioning that he should take the call, Adam continued as Tommy walked to a quieter spot.

"The transference of power only works on a team level. The only power that can be transferred is limited to what power source was held. Say, if my Zeo crystal was destroyed in some way, the remaining power would be evenly distributed between Kat, Tanya, Rocky, Tommy and to some lesser extent Trey and Jason."

He let the next part of the explanation die on his lips. While that was technically true, he didn't want to scare them further with the full explanation. If a Power Coin was destroyed, they would feel a rush of power, but they wouldn't experience any glowing appendages. The only reason for glowing appendages was if the Coin holder perished or was in another dimension when the destruction happened. He just hoped that it was the latter, but studying with Billy had given him a better grasp on dimensional theory than most quantum physicists.

Any introspect on the theories of dimensional travel and its impossibilities were halted as Tommy walked back. He was limply holding his phone and had a strangely dazed look on his face. With an air of absentmindedness none of them had seen since High School, Tommy slipped his phone into his pants pocket and leaned against the wall – seemingly in his own world. Looking at them with a blank look on his face, his eyes seemed to glow green as he spoke two words that confused and frightened them.

"Discord calls…"

TBC…


	7. Advice

Disclaimer: Not mine. Except the thing behind the cover at the end. AppleDash starts here. And this is obviously an AU setting. Enjoy!

Equestria 101 – Advice

Billy grunted in frustration as he ran calibration testing on the Megabuster again. He didn't know why, but he had a nagging suspicion that the Zords would be needed for the next battle. It had been most unexpected that Zedd had not made Pirhantishead grow, but he reckoned that was due to Zedd not having enough power for a growth spell. As the results came back, he idly mused on the events of the morning…specifically what had happened when Rarity had been seen coming out of his room.

He nervously looked at the open door for the white unicorn. While she had lectured him to an inch of his life about leaving a lady in the middle of the night, she had been rather good-natured about it when she heard the explanation. Of course, his explanation involved long anecdotes about the past and lengthy words, so Rarity had waved it off and told him not to do it again. Still, he was nervous that she might come at him for a 'Round 2' of sorts or worse…ask him to be a clothes model. Technically, he would be exempt from that as he wasn't a pony but he wasn't willing to take the chance.

As the lights flickered overhead, he frowned slightly. All of the power in the Command Tower was being siphoned off the five Element Crystals, but the system was still getting used to converting raw magic into electricity. He had thought about grabbing the Gold Zeo Crystal from Triforia, but had decided against it once he had heard the rumours about Grumm. Trey would need the Crystal to defend his people and his home against the wannabe overlord. Apparently this Grumm had recently conquered the world of Sirius and had destroyed the Space Patrol Delta outpost that had been set up.

Looking up at the sound of hoof steps, he saw Applejack entering the Zord Hangar. Stifling a chuckle at her look of wonder, he smiled at the Earth pony.

"Applejack, what brings you to my neck of the woods?

Applejack barely heard his voice. There was a giant mechanical version of her staring down at her. Apart from obviously being made of metal, it was a perfect replica – right down to the Element necklace, her Stetson and her Cutie Mark. She felt her jaw drop open as she marvelled at the workmanship of what she could only assume were metals and alloys not found on Equestria. Closing her mouth with an audible click, she turned her gaze onto the amused human.

"What…what in the hay is all this 'ere?"

Billy tapped a few commands into the console before answering. Looking over the readings, he nodded to himself and then spoke.

"This will be your Honesty Harmonyzord. It and the other zords are in the final stages of calibration and testing. You really didn't think the Ranger Powers stopped with fancy duds and weapons, did you?"

The cowpony raised an eyebrow at Billy and chuckled. Shaking her head, she made her way over to Billy and tried not to stare up at the giant mirror image of herself looming ominously above her. She really needed help with something and she wasn't too comfortable talking to either Princess about it. She supposed she could have asked Twilight for help, but it probably would be asking too much of the purple unicorn to include the 'Pinkie Pie Swear' and the craziness that would follow. Locking gazes with the metallic behemoth above yet again, she asked the first thing that came to mind.

"What in tarnation is a zord?"

Billy looked at the pony in front of him and thought about how he should answer. On one hand, she and the others were very new to being Rangers and as such, the only information they had was whatever filtered into their brains during the first morph. As the zords were not yet connected to their Crystals, he could be reasonably certain that the information wasn't available.

"A zord is one of the essential parts of being a Power Ranger. It is called upon whenever the battle is escalated, mostly due to the monster becoming enlarged in some fashion. While the individual zord unit is useful, the real potential is shown off with the zords combining into a Megazord configuration…"

He let the words trail off as he saw the cowpony's eyes glaze over at his words. Seeing as his attempt to cut down on the technobabble wasn't working, he decided to tackle the question in the most direct manner possible.

"It's for when you really need a monster dead."

Applejack blinked twice to get the glaze off her eyes and nodded. It only seemed reasonable that there would be monsters in the future that couldn't be destroyed by their Element Blasters and whatever surprised Billy had programmed into their suits. She wasn't sure about the whole concept of escalating battles, but she knew it would come to her when the time was right. With her curiosity sated for the moment, she looked up at the human and swallowed hard.

"Billy, can ah ask you somethin' real quick?"

Billy nodded and closed down the power readout screen. The zord that was mostly ready for action was for the yellow Pegasus anyway…Fluttershy her name was. He knew that she would be a fine Ranger once she overcame her timidness and non-violent stance but the issue was allowing her to push away the timidness in the first place. However, the next sentence that he heard made his mind close up.

"Ah think…no, ah know I love Rainbow Dash, but ah don't know how ah can express it to 'er."

Billy's mouth dried up quickly and he stretched to find a good response. Comforting people and getting them together had always been Kim's job in the group, not his. He opened and closed his mouth several times as suggestions formed and were shot down. He was also well aware that he was doing a spot-on impression of a fish and the thought amused him somewhat.

"Billy? You OK there? Ah cain't ask the Princesses nor Twilight or even any o' the others. Can you at least give me some help?"

Billy swallowed hard and tried to come up with a suitable response. With all his prior relationships, he had never taken the first steps and the only time he had acted on his own in a relationship ended in disaster. Feelings such as love were never meant to be rushed into and a natural progression had to be achieved in order to have the best results for all. On the other hand, the Rangers were starting to grow on him and he didn't want to see any of them hurt – either physically or emotionally.

"Applejack, I'm not one for love advice but if you want to tell her then wait for the right moment. It should be when both of you are alone together and you are certain it isn't a life-or-death situation. Tearful confessions of love during moments like that don't always work."

Applejack tapped her hoof against her chin thoughtfully. The information was a bit on the hokey side, but on the other hoof it made some degree of sense. She guessed she could keep her feelings secret from the cyan Pegasus, but she didn't know for how long. Life-or-death moments never seemed to spring up that often before, but Billy was talking about them like they would happen all the time. She smiled at her fellow Ranger and bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you kindly, Billy. Ah know what to do from now on. No rushin' into things for now an' ah'm keeping my feelings to m'self for a bit. Thanks again pardner!"

Applejack turned to walk off, but something in the far corner caught her eye. To her reckoning it was exactly the same size as her zord, but it had all manner of covers on it. From what she could make out, it was coloured a dark midnight blue and had a streamlined shape. She didn't have to turn her head to know Billy had followed her gaze and was looking at the covered shape as well.

"Billy? What's that over there?"

Billy looked over to the corner and a wistful look came over his face. While the zord wreckage from the Wind and Thunder Ninja Academies had been useful to creating the new zords, there had been a lot of leftover parts. After a short conference with Dimitria, he had found the perfect use for them. Unfortunately, finishing it without a proper Power Source was almost impossible. He sighed softly and answered.

"Backup"

TBC…


	8. Ultra

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and My Little Pony aren't mine. However, the Dark Ultra Crystal/13th Ultra Crystal is mine and has made its appearance in the Rangers of Equestria universe! This will be one of the only links to my Ultra Crystals universe and if you've read The Ultra Crystals/Rangers of the Elements/Kamen Rider Tyrant/Tinywarz Rangers, you know how powerful the Ultra Crystals are.

Enjoy!

Equestria 101 – Ultra

Lord Zedd paced restlessly in his chambers. He had freed Discord one and a half days ago but the humanoid alicorn-no-more was too busy sulking to be of any use to him. He would give that wretched husk one more day of recovery and then he would make his move. He had to admit – the equine warrior was more skilled than Goldar and much more intelligent than Rito. Well, anyone and their dog would be more skilled than Rito, but the skeletal warrior did gain points for brute strength and some tactical planning.

His mind wandered to his first minion, the one who now went by the name of Tricksy. He had chosen her specifically for two reasons: her raw magical talent and her long-standing grudge against another magic using unicorn. Her survival after the merging was an unexpected surprise – as was her continuing mutation. If he was reading the signs rightly, she would become a biped and would be a force to be reckoned with in battle. If her mental state didn't improve, she would be relegated to basic monster making and spell finding. Such was the raw power of her magic that it had allowed her to exist when other lesser beings would have perished…or allowed his essence to bind to their bodies.

Suppressing a growl of disgust at what his last host body had now become, he flicked his good wrist and summoned his greatest of trump cards to him. It had been by pure coincidence that he had stumbled upon it a month before the Countdown. It had literally fallen out of the sky and into his lap.

Flashback

_Lord Zedd growled to himself as he sat on his throne. Rita had somehow gotten into her head that something big was on the horizon and they had to prepare for it. That had meant strong-arming him into moving the entire Palace from the moon to the very edge of the Earthen Solar System. The dwarf planet of Pluto had held his interest for a very short time…and then boredom had set in. As the light from the Sun didn't shine this far, the planetoid was shrouded in permanent night. As for his wife, she had devoted most of her time to the creation and recreation of monsters, putties and various odds and ends._

_Watching her work had gotten old really fast. _

_So had watching Goldar and Rito train._

_The next option was to spy on the Power Rangers, but try as he might, his vision couldn't penetrate the shielding surrounding that Megaship. Spying on the former Rangers was an exercise in futility and rapid boredom as none of them were up to anything remotely interesting. The only exception was the former Red Ranger who had developed some mild interest in fossils and was leaving his lucrative racing career to study. Rita had laughed her ass off when she had heard and had proclaimed that Tommy couldn't amount to anything without some magic to help with his memory._

_Maybe it was cheating on his part, but he had cast a small memory enhancing spell on the former leader of the Power Rangers just to see what it would do. To his disappointment, it didn't seem to do much good but it had left him with an interesting side effect: a multiversal link that he could use to plant suggestions in his brain or even – with the right amount of power – transport him through the dimensional walls to a destination of Zedd's choosing. As he currently had no plans to travel to other dimensions, he kept this a secret from his prying wife._

_Currently, his habit of 'Tommy watching' was becoming a daily routine. He was sure that he knew more about Earthen geology than anyone, but that was beside the point. Once he had been a feared Lord and had ruled with an iron fist. These days, he was content to rule from a seated position in front of his servants as they did his – or his wife's – bidding. All in all, it was a very mundane existence but something told him the better days were just around the corner. He doubted very much that was the case as for the better days to come; he would have to find some way to extract himself from his current shell._

_A nearby burst of dimensional energy snapped him out of his musings as he cast his gaze to the dark sky above. Narrowing his focus, he saw a portal of some kind snap close as well as something small barrelling towards the planetoid. Judging from the energy signature, it was a crystal that had been virtually untouched by any side of the Grid – a fact that intrigued him greatly. If it responded to him, he could use its energies to overthrow Dark Spectre and crush the Power Rangers outright. Lifting his staff, he silently cast an ensnaring spell that brought the mystery crystal to him without any flashes or noise. As he stretched out his free hand, it fell into his grasp with the barest hint of sound._

_As it lay in his grasp, he took a quick moment to look at it. It was devoid of any colouration and was completely transparent. As he gazed at it, he could see tiny flashes of light coming from somewhere within its structure. Carefully, he extended a tendril of magic inside the crystal in the hope of connecting with its powerful core. It had only penetrated a small amount when a powerfully overwhelming surge of magic flooded his senses. He was taken so completely off guard that he almost drove the point of his staff into his foot. As the sudden tide slowly ebbed away, he slowly let out an evil chuckle as his own magic energies started to increase._

_End Flashback_

He had hidden the crystal away in a private dimensional subpocket that was specially sealed with his own magical signature. His host body could access it, so he locked it with a small amount of his own essence. It was fortunate that his essence would remain intact even when the host body died or was purified but that was the way it was for his species. Or at least it was until he had discovered a way to permanently kill everyone else off. He was the only living Xin'tharan left in the Galaxy that he knew of.

After the sealing of the Crystal, he had actively started researching powerful crystal artefacts in the hopes of finding more to increase his power. Rita had asked what he was doing and he had given her a cock-and-bull story about finding crystals to strengthen their monster army. It seemed to have worked as the old hag had stopped making more monsters and had thrown herself into her own research that was centred on a small town on Earth called Briarwood. From what he had found out, it seemed the crystal was from a research project during the Morphin Wars that was scrapped due to power concerns. Obviously, wherever the crystal had come from the project hadn't been scrapped. A small amount of digging later had given him the name of the scrapped project: Project Ultra.

Of course, the best place to do more in depth searching would have been in the Council Archives on Eltar…except it was the hub of all things Good. Plus, it was very well defended with its own team of Rangers – robot duplicates of the second Turbo team with duplicates of the Turbozords. The second best place to look was on Triforia in the Royal Library, as it was rumoured that every single project ever commissioned during the Morphin Wars was kept in the vast archive. He had been on the verge of his first individual conquest in decades…and the call for the Countdown to commence had come in.

The battle had raged on for hours, spanning the entire planet and every city. He was forced to tap the so-called "Ultra" Crystal for more power to strengthen their armies. At first, it hadn't worked and Zedd had endured a three hour long rant by Rita about magic capacity and transformers and whatever random thought wafted into her head. The defeat of the Gold Zeo Ranger had come soon after – as had the wave of light that signified Zordon's sacrifice. As soon as he had seen the wave of light on the horizon, he drew on the overwhelming magic from the Ultra Crystal and had allowed it to bond with his essence.

The pain had been excruciating.

He theorized it was likely due to the inherently good and pure energy in the crystal both attempting to purify his evil spirit and merging with it. The confusion had also allowed him to slip out of his host body as it was purified and ride the light wave until it finally petered out. It had been worth every second of pain as his Dark Ultra Crystal was now permanently bonded to his essence, which meant that he could draw upon the majority of its powers with ease. Of course, there was a very steep learning curve which meant that he was experimenting as he went. He would test out his growth spells again in the next battle as well as his grunt creation spells. The mock Tengas that were produced upon his arrival had only been a precursor to his most terrifying grunts yet. On the other hand; if his next attempt turned sour, he would tweak the design until they could wreak havoc.

He would reign supreme.

And the multiverse would burn.

TBC…


	9. Individual Harmony

Disclaimer: Ponies and Power Rangers are not mine. Everything you don't recognise is.

Equestria 101 – Individual Harmony

Something was beeping near him.

Billy paid it no mind and continued the diagnostic, his brow furrowing as he noticed oil coming out of tiny seams in the armour. After he had recovered from the combined effects of the power destruction and battle strain, he had thrown himself into various pieces of work – namely running diagnostics of the rest of the Zords in readiness of their connection to the Rangers. He looked over to where the metal object was laying under the tarp that barely covered it and smiled sadly. It would have been good if he had managed to finish it and connect it to the Power Coin before its destruction. It may have saved the Power Coin altogether…but he didn't know for sure.

Sighing, he dismissed that train of thought with a weary shake of his head. To power a Zord, one needed an extremely powerful source of energy; such as a direct link to the Morphin Grid. He wasn't sure how Lightspeed Rescue had powered their Zords, but from various reports he had deduced that the majority of their power came from a tap into the Shadow World. The same Shadow World that Queen Bansheera had been sealed into. Picking up a cloth, he moved close to the machine and began cleaning off the excess oil that had accumulated during the diagnostics.

Hearing the door to the Zord Bay creak open, he sighed in frustration as the diagnostics restarted and oil started to seep out of the seams. So far, Dimitria and the Princesses had left him alone, but the Rangers hadn't…and he was grateful for their concern. Applejack and Fluttershy were his most regular visitors with Rainbow Dash a close second. He suspected the Element of Loyalty was itching to ask him something, but for the life of him, he couldn't guess what it was.

Craning his head above the console, he was surprised to see all six Rangers and Spike trotting into the Zord Bay. They had seen their individual Zords up close, but now they were seeing a combination they would have never seen from the outside…unless an attack ejected them from the cockpit or they had another "Tommy" scenario.

The Harmony Megazord.

"Rangers, this is the Harmony Megazord in its Omega configuration. So far, this is the only configuration I have been able to implement but soon there will be five more configurations, each individually tailored to your own strengths."

He hopped down from the platform and walked towards them. As he did so, he pressed a button on one of the consoles and the gestalt began to glow. With a great rush of wind, the bipedal machine broke apart and reformed back into the six individual Zords as the ponies stared in awe and tried to comprehend what they had seen. Individually, the Zords themselves were works of sheer magnificence. The power that was barely hidden behind their metallic exteriors was well contained, but the only Ranger that was fully connected to her Zord was Fluttershy. Wiping off the excess oil from his hands, he looked up at the machines he had created from the wreckage of the Ninja Storm zords.

"Now, I will connect you to each of your Zords so you can call them in the heat of battle."

Seeing as they were still in awe over their Zords – including Fluttershy – Billy smirked and walked over to a console. As he looked over the controls, his mouth fell into a frown as he noted that most of the buttons were built with hands in mind instead of hooves. He would have to ask Spike to learn the controls but he was a bit leery of getting up close and personal with a dragon – even a baby one. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. As his fingers flew over the keys, he felt one of the unicorns come up alongside him. A flash of lavender fur out of the corner of his eye confirmed that Twilight was peering over his shoulder. The bookworm pony had given him a lot of ideas that he was able to work into the Zords as well as the Warriorzord combinations.

A split second after his finger pressed the final button; he saw a shudder travel through the bodies of the Rangers, sans Fluttershy. He knew from experience that new information was pouring into their minds and compartmentalising to ensure there was no information overload. There would still be some overflow, but it would be contained within the subconscious mind and wouldn't affect the day-to-day activities of the Rangers. After a few seconds, he saw the shudders ease. The girls – mainly Kim and Kat – had described the sensations as a "near-orgasm experience".

He _really _didn't want to think about that near the ponies. _Especially_ after his chat with Applejack.

Forcefully barring those thoughts from his mind, he tapped a few more keys causing screens to rise up seamlessly from the floor. As one, they flicked on, showing computer generated images of the six Harmonyzords doing various activities like running, flying and fighting. He had already told them how they were constructed from a previous Ranger teams Zords and had assured them that that team didn't have need for them anymore. Stepping from the console, he nodded toward the first Zord while a spotlight illuminated it from below.

"Applejack, this is your Honesty Harmonyzord. As it is based on you, it is an exceptional athlete and can easily outpace the other land based zords. Its primary attack is the Applebuck, which is an energised kick from the back legs."

Applejack grinned at hearing that and motioned with a hoof for him to continue.

"Taking into account your abilities with lassos, I have added two tripwire launchers on the flanks. These will help you, uh, corral the monsters to where you want them to go. It can also launch energy spikes from the tail and can infuse energy into the ground via a stomp for a devastating attack, very similar to this."

On one of the screens, the image changed to a desert and the Rangers saw a mechanical red beast lower its gaping mouth to the sand below. With a small blue and white flash, energy shot into the ground and began to travel in a straight line kicking up dust behind it. As the view shifted perspectives, a giant turtle monster with something sticking out from its shell was seen to be engulfed by the energy that erupted from below. With a short wail, the monster disintegrated before their eyes. Applejack looked at her Zord again with a healthy respect in her eyes.

"Using the mystical energy inherent in both the Elements of Harmony and the Zeo Crystals, I was able to allow some manipulation of the natural elements. Applejack, your Harmonyzord can control the element of Earth. This includes dirt, dust and rocks."

Seeing the cowpony pleased with her Zord's capabilities, he moved onto the next fighting machine. The robotic cyan pegasus stood proudly in the glow of the light.

"Rainbow Dash, your Loyalty Harmonyzord will serve you well. Like you, it can fly at supersonic speeds – maxing out at Mach 3. However, your Zord is the only one capable of re-energising the other zords in the middle of combat by deploying the Rainblast – a highly charged energy discharge executed the same way as the Sonic Rainboom. The resulting blast will damage the enemy and will recharge the Zords as well as accelerating the Zord to Mach 5 for a very short time. Your Elemental manipulation is of weather. This includes lightning, hail, snow and rain. Use these powers wisely, Dash."

Rainbow Dash nodded as she stared at the Zord in her image with delight and awe. Her mind was brimming with the possibilities for attacks and impressing the Wonderbolts. Shaking his head, Billy moved onto the next flying Zord as the spotlight illuminated it. Fluttershy nervously spoke up.

"B-Billy? What else is in my Zord that I don't k-know about?"

The former Blue Ranger smiled down at the timid Pegasus. Fluttershy had the advantage of actually piloting her Zord during the battle with Discord, but she had only scratched the surface with its potential. He had been fortunate enough to have been in the Everfree Forest when she had faced down the cockatrice and had immediately implemented the idea that had ingrained its way into his mind.

"You just scratched the surface with the Element Megabuster. Your Kindness Harmonyzord is much like yourself – ripe with hidden depths. Much like Rainbow's Zord, it can achieve supersonic flight…although only up to Mach 2. Any more speed would peel off the armour plating as your Zord is best suited for withstanding fierce assaults. When you and your Zord are in full synch; that will activate the gravity beams in the eyes. They can be fired off in short bursts or in a long attack very similar to your "Stare"."

Fluttershy ducked her head and blushed lightly. Billy smiled again and continued.

"Your Zord can easily manipulate wind so you can blow out fires or fire off razor sharp wind shears."

Moving on, he paused slightly as he was not sure how to begin. The next Harmonyzord had given him a ton of headaches during its construction and testing. It was almost as it was aware it was a machine…but that was insane. Inhaling deeply, he began.

"Pinkie Pie, the Laughter Harmonyzord is yours to command. Like you, it is a very random machine."

"Silly Billy, I'm not a machine! I'm a pony, you are a human and the people watching and reading are humans as well!"

Billy and the others blinked in surprise and stunned amusement. Opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds, Billy snapped it shut and rubbed his temples. He started again.

"As I was saying, it is a very random machine. Even I don't know what it's capable of in battle as the testing results always came out skewed. What I _do_ know is that due to a faulty teleportation console, it randomly teleports everywhere and can literally attack from all angles at once. Like Rainbow's zord, it manipulates energy in the form of illusions…so don't be alarmed if various body parts start stretching."

"No worries! Wow, the view from up here is amazing!"

Billy whirled around to see the pink pony precariously perched on the head of the Laughter Zord. In eerie unison, the Rangers, Billy and Spike screwed up their eyes and rubbed their heads. When they opened their eyes again, Pinkie was standing in front of the screens, entranced by the moving images on the screen. Giving up on the random pony, Billy moved onto the next Harmonyzord.

"Rarity, meet your Generosity Harmonyzord. It is a machine of grace and beauty…and it uses the flashiest attacks. It is primarily a long range attacker but it can get up close and personal. The horn provides a long range attack in the form of a prism beam, which can stun the enemy temporarily for your team to set up an attack or the Megazord transformation."

Billy pressed nodded to the screen that kept showing Shellshock's destruction by the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and the image changed to a photo-realistic version of Rarity's Zord. With surprising suddenness, the horn situated in the middle of the Zord's head grew until it was almost as long as the front legs. Rarity gasped as she saw the transformation.

"Unfortunately, the weight of the blade restricts most forms of movement, but all you have to do is swing the blade around. Your environment manipulation is water in all its forms. This will mean you can control Rainbow Dash's hail and snow to some extent. You will also be able to create and thaw ice, even if it is magical in nature."

Rarity nodded once and looked to the line of Zords. She noticed there was something extra behind Twilight's Zord, but chose not to question it. It was probably some form of transportation that he could use. As the next and final Zord was illuminated, everybody gasped in amazement – except Billy. Twilight Sparkle looked up in awe at the robot unicorn styled and coloured in her own image and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, this is your Magic Harmonyzord. As magic is the most powerful Element, I have made your Zord the most heavily armed. Retractable cannons on the flanks, twin missile racks hidden in the shoulders and the horn can fire a concentrated ball of pure Grid energy."

Billy paused, noticing that Twilight's eyes ere roaming over her machine with a look akin to fanaticism. He had placed a veritable armoury of weapons and helpful devices into her Zord, but the lavender unicorn would have to find everything herself.

"There's more to your Zord than weapons and the way that they're used. Of course, your Zord is designed for long range combat but with your element, you can rough it up with the best of them. Actually, your Element control was implemented a few weeks ago as I was struggling to think of what would suit you best."

He paused, biting the inside of his cheek to stop laughing.

"And then Pinkie told me of what happened at Froggy Bottom Bog."

Twilight groaned and planted a hoof into her face as Pinkie Pie, Spike and Applejack erupted into hysterical laughter. She wasn't pleased with the way she had handled the event but her curiosity was piqued. What had Billy implemented into her Zord? Her question was answered a split second later as two large tongues of flame erupted from its mane and tail and the horn turned white-hot. Billy had to shout to be heard over the crackling of the flames.

"Control over fire is your specialty. This extends to magma and lava, though when the magma is cooled with water, Applejack will take control of the rocks."

As the flames died down, Billy checked his clothing for smouldering areas. Satisfied there were none, he walked over to the main console and tapped a button. The line of Zords parted in the middle to reveal a strange looking vehicle. It was shaped similar to Billy's shuttle but was coloured purple with green highlights. Two structures jutted out of the sides that looked like small dragon wings. A small one-pony cockpit could be seen for the barest of instant before it retreated back into the armoured body. Spike's eyes widened as his mind made the connection and he looked to Billy for confirmation – which the former Ranger was more than happy to give.

"Spike, even though you aren't a Ranger, you have the heart and will of one. This is your Dragon Jet and is powered by half of the Green Zeo Crystal. With the flick of a claw, you can change from the Jet form to a draconic form for more agility. It is armed with sonic blast emitters, flamethrowers and twin Gatling guns that can fire up to six thousand rounds per minute."

Spike's mouth hung open as his eyes traversed the sleek metallic body of his powered vehicle. Even if it was just an assistant role, a role in the thick of combat was everything he would need to impress the unicorn of his dreams. This was further cemented in his mind as he heard Billy's next words.

"The Dragon Jet can combine with any of the other four land Zords to give them flight capabilities, but it can only be used at its peak together with the Unicorn zords – making the Dragon Jet invaluable in an intense battle situation."

As the ponies hoof stomped the ground in excitement, Billy couldn't help but look at the covered mass of parts in the far corner. He supposed it would be for the best if he dismantled it and used it to repair the main Zords. It would be worthless to him now. Mentally pushing away the melancholy, he turned back to the Rangers with a smirk on his face.

"The Zords are one thing, but the Warriorzord combinations are another."

TBC…


	10. Metamorphosis

Disclaimer: Ponies = not mine. Zedd and the Power Rangers = not mine. Everything else, which isn't much = mine. Hey, look what got an update!

Equestria 101 – Metamorphosis

"Damn them! Damn them all!"

Gilda crashed into the stone wall as she rubbed her now-useless eyes. Although she had closed her eyes at the last split-second, the energy had done its damage. The intense heat had fried both of them to a crisp but had, by some miracle, missed the nerves. So, she could still see...but it was just the sight of the blind. She still had the last laugh with those ponies or Rangers or whatever they were now. There was no way the Pink one could withstand Gryffon and his illusions.

After walking blindly for a while, she fell on her face onto the slightly warm stone floor of her Master's throne room. Clutching the ground for support, she raised her head in the direction she thought her Master would be. For a strange creature, her Master had given her the promise of great power…but she had failed in her mission. And she was as blind as a bat.

"Gilda. You have returned empty handed, physically."

She stiffened as the voice came from all around her and bowed her head. She had failed in her mission but Gryffon was still…no, she knew in her heart that such a brittle beast wouldn't last long at all. It would only be good for target practice, no matter what it had said about casting illusions to destroy the Rangers. The Griffon was used to dealing with Royal Guards and had been the scourge of the skies until Celestia had encased the beast under the ground where her Master had found it with her help. She opened her beak to defend herself against death but was silenced by Zedd's next words.

"I sent you to gather information. If you were to kill one of the Rangers, well, that would have been a bonus."

"F-Forgive me, master. My journey to Ponyville was a disaster."

She felt clawed fingers gently lift her head up and she shivered under his touch. She was almost glad that the strange hoof-like hand hadn't touched her feathers but the silver tipped fingers were almost as bad. Still, she didn't flinch away from the vile touch nor at the words that followed.

"Hmm, indeed it was but from a different point of view, you could see it as a small victory. For a small moment, you were able to demoralise the Pink Ranger and you have shaken the Blue Ranger's spirit. In return, those Rangers took away your sight."

Gilda seethed with anger and her feathers bristled at his words. She wanted to make those Rangers pay dearly. She wanted to rip and tear all the feathers from Rainbow Dash's wings and leave her battered and broken for her lover to find. Yes, she had seen the way the Red Ranger looked at the blue Pegasus and if she wasn't mistaken, Dash felt the same way. She felt tears pool in her useless eyes as she remembered their stolen moments during the Junior Speedsters camp…wait. No, that was wrong. She shook her head violently to clear it. There hadn't been any moments between her and Dash so why was she…?

Power slammed into her brain, overriding her thoughts as false memories wormed their way into her mind. Nights spent talking now became nights of passion and the only night she had stayed in Dash's home became a night of cloud romping. The part of her brain that was still sane screamed at the mental rape and also took notice of the other changes in her body. She could now stand freely on two legs and her front paws had grown slightly longer and had the appearance of hands. Her claws were still retracted and she swiped them through the air a few times. She felt a slight amount of discomfort as her bones shifted to accommodate her new eyes which allowed her to see what she was turning in to.

When it was over, she looked at her new body. She was now bipedal and was wearing a white and brown breastplate that matched her armour. Her head was covered in a half-helmet with thin eye-holes and an opening for her beak. Plates of bronzed armour protected her shoulders and upper arms from attacks and her hands were sheathed in silver chain mail gloves that allowed her claws to retract seamlessly. As Gilda preened herself, she felt the same energy seep into her brain and welcomed it. The same small part of Gilda screamed in her brain, but was brutally smothered by the darkness. Her eyes opened again and she saw her Master looking at her, seemingly pleased.

"Well, how do you feel my servant?"

She grinned wickedly and laughed heartily.

"I will destroy them and feast on their flesh!"

TBC…


	11. Harmony Warriors

AN: Warriorzords and foreshadowing. Enjoy!

Equestria 101 – Harmony Warriors

"Warriorzords? What are those?"

Billy looked down at the assembled Rangers and smiled broadly. He was delighted to see the amazement on their faces at his hard work; especially Spike who had resigned himself as always helping from the sidelines. While half of the Green Zeo Crystal powered the Dragon Jet, there was no chance that Spike would gain the ability to morph into a Ranger. His infant body wouldn't be able to handle the strain and the excess energy and would end up…messy. With a wave of his hand, the screens showing the CGI Zords went blank for around thirty seconds before the Rangers' mouths fell open.

On the various screens were recordings of the various Warriorzord transformations from the various Ranger teams. The most prominent image was the Red Dragon Thunderzord transforming into its Warrior Mode as well as the transformations of the Turbo era Rescuezords. Even the Shogunzords and Super Zeo Zords were shown although they technically weren't Warriorzords. The images were reflected in their eyes as they glanced from screen to screen and back to their Zords that stood proudly above them. He hoped that they would still be thankful when they discovered who they would be paired up with. He had designed them to complement strengths and minimise any weaknesses that may be evident in their individual Zords. He had even added extra Zord hardpoints in the extremely off chance that the original Zeo Zords were to merge with the Warriorzords; but being a Ranger had taught him that anything was possible.

"There are three Warriorzords formed by a pair of Zords. These will be vital if there is a time that the Harmony Megazord cannot be formed because of some external factors. Applejack and Rainbow Dash; your Zords can combine to form the Apple Flyer."

He was very aware of the death glare Applejack was shooting him, as well as the darkening of her coat from either rage or embarrassment. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the same blushing effect happening on Rainbow Dash and he chuckled to himself as he saw the strange looks the others were shooting them. Clearing his throat to avoid laughing out loud, he motioned to one of the screens. The image of the transforming Rhino Zord vanished and was replaced by CGI versions of the Loyalty and Honesty Harmonyzords. Nodding at the screen, the transformation took place. The Honesty Harmonyzord retracted its head into its main body and leapt into the air, turning so its back was parallel to the ground and retracted its mane and tail.

All four legs rotated around and to the side as if in preparation for something. The Loyalty Harmonyzord took off and split into two halves before sliding onto the Honesty Zord. With a simulated clang, the two sets of front and back legs connected together forming the arms and feet of the Warriorzord. The hooves melded together to form the feet while the front hooves split apart to form fingers. The head of the Loyalty Zord swung down to glare at whatever monster was in its way. Unlike most of the Warriorzords that had been shown, there was no human face. Instead, it retained the Pegasus head of the Loyalty Zord. Panels on the back of the Honesty Zord opened to reveal the chest symbol of the combined Zords: a winged apple with multicoloured lightning bolts shooting out of it.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash forgot their embarrassment as they stared at the CGI representation of the Apple Flyer in amazement. Even Rarity had to agree that the colour combination of blue, red and orange wasn't garish or eye-wateringly bad as it posed in front of a massive explosion. Seeing that their attention was off trying to stare him to death, Billy spoke again.

"The Apple Flyer is designed to be a quick and agile fighter. Its primary weapon is its powerful kicks that can be charged up with as much or as little Zeo Energy as you want. If the reactor reaches critical mass, I have included a sophisticated cooling system that cools the entirety of the Warriorzord within seconds. So Rainbow Dash, the Apple Flyer can literally become cooler in ten seconds flat."

Rainbow grinned as the others groaned at the horrific pun the former Ranger had worked into her catch-phrase and looked nervously at Applejack. If they were in the same cockpit together, they would need a cooling system all right. Shaking herself from those thoughts, she focused on Billy and scowled as his smirk grew wider. He wouldn't be smiling for long after she pranked him good.

"There is also a laser that can be fired from the mouth and twin missile racks that can be fired from the shoulders. For weapon combat, I have given the Apple Flyer the Dash Daggers. These can be charged with energy as well and can form a throwing blade."

The image on the screen changed again to show the CGI Apple Flyer wielding two red and blue daggers skilfully. Billy smiled sadly at the daggers as they had been designed after the Power Daggers that had been used by both Trini and Aisha years ago. He had debated on using a scaled up Power Lance in place of the daggers but eventually had to admit defeat. His Lance would be too clunky for the speedy combination to use effectively and it would place too much drag on the flight. He made to speak again, but closed his mouth with a sly smile. He wouldn't tell them what else their combination Zord could do; they had to figure it out for themselves. He turned to the Rangers and chuckled as Applejack returned to her normal colouring.

"Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, you will control the…Fluttering Loon."

He grimaced lightly as the Rangers and Spike erupted into giggles. It sounded extremely strange to Dimitria, Celestia and himself, but there was no denying that the Zord had picked the name out for itself which was impossible. He didn't want to give himself any more headaches trying to work out how it was possible; he already had too many difficulties with the prototype Multiversal Opener he had constructed on a whim. On the screen, the image of the Apple Flyer changed to show the Laughter and Kindness Harmonyzords facing each other before exploding in a giant dust cloud that appeared from nowhere. When the dust settled, a Warriorzord that looked incredibly like the Dino Stegozord was standing in its place; brandishing its weapon threateningly. Fluttershy's Zord created the head, body and counterbalancing tail; while Pinkie's Zord provided the arms, legs and the main weapon: a scaled up Lion Hammer that squeaked whenever it hit an object.

"The Fluttering Loon is a truly random machine that is second only to the Laughter Harmonyzord. Its attacks and techniques are an utter mystery to me. I am pretty sure that its tail can be used in a few attacks and a powerful beam can be projected from its mouth. The only thing I am sure of is the hammer can be used to devastating effect for close range smashes or long range concussion waves."

Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up at the combination Zord on the screen in front of her. The colouration of yellow, pink and purple seemed to sing to her; an effect that was multiplied by the abstract chest symbol of a balloon with butterfly wings. Glancing at Fluttershy, the pink Earth Pony was pleased to note that she was staring at the Fluttering Loon in awe and shock. Billy shrugged at the two Rangers.

"The rest will be up to you to figure out. I wish I could be better informed but that damn Warriorzord is about as random as the Everfree."

Turning to Spike, he spoke directly to the young Dragon.

"Spike, the Dragon Jet can combine with the Warriorzords for greater firepower, stability and…sanity. And just for the record, you will not be able to morph into a full Ranger. At the very least, the Green crystal will form an armoured flight suit around your body so you do not get injured as much."

Spike opened his mouth to speak but Billy held up his hand, anticipating his words.

"I know your scales will protect you but this is for the worst case scenario that no one wants to see happen…but still must be protected against."

Spike nodded, eyeing the Dragon Jet welcomingly. He knew that Billy was the one to go to when it came to Ranger and Zord battles but he didn't want to think of what a worse scenario than 'Zords being heavily damaged' was. Billy would ensure that they were protected and that was all that really mattered. Sensing the dragon's acceptance, Billy moved on to the last two Rangers and motioned at one of the main screens. With a slight whir of gears, the others vanished into their slots in the floor while it seemingly expanded in size. The image on screen was of the two Unicorn Harmonyzords overlooking a lush green valley at sunrise. The Rangers gaped at the sight, while Billy chuckled.

"Twilight Sparkle and Rarity; you are the pilots of the Sparkling Unizord. Your Warriorzord is the strongest of the three in terms of raw power and its forte is long range combat."

The two Unicorn Zords on screen faced each other, nodded once and the transformation began. Rarity's Zord twisted and turned to form two powerful legs and gleaming white and purple hooves. The Magic Harmonyzord levitated into the air and pulled its front and back legs into its body where they merged together and shot out the shoulders to form the arms. As with the Warriorzords before them, panels on the Magic Zord slid away to reveal the chest symbol of the Sparkling Unizord: a six pointed star surrounded by multicoloured diamonds. Both Unicorn Zords merged together in a flash of blinding light and the head swung down to reveal a fearsome face.

"The Unizord is equipped with lasers, Gatling vulcans and a night impenetrable magic shield that can be deployed only in the direst of situations. As it is a long-range battler, there should be no need for a close range weapon…then again, Power Rangers have always adapted with change."

In a flare of purple light, the Unizord on screen materialised a purple and green Power Axe. Billy grinned at the weapon; noting the wing-like protrusions on either side of the handle. The next few seconds would give him the answer he needed regarding the…extra surprise he had added. Turning the Axe blade side down, the Unizord slid the base of the blade down and the two protrusions snapped open in a crossbow shape.

"The Unizord Axe is good for close combat situations but the true potential lies in its Cannon mode. The 'wings' can provide an extra kick to the blast and can even be used as a close combat weapon in and of themselves."

The ponies stomped their hooves in appreciation at their new Zords and what they could do. There was certainly more that Billy had yet to tell them; but they weren't worried. The Zords would be fine in combat as long as there weren't any other surprises like two giant monsters at once. Hearing their cheers, Billy sagged against the console in exhaustion and wondered how the Zords would perform in the heat of battle. There was still one thing that needed to be shown to the Rangers. He could still fight in battles but not as a fully powered Ranger. Inhaling deeply, he shouted out the two words that would connect him to the only Power Source he had left.

"Ninjetti, Wolf!"

TBC…


	12. Orange Weapons

AN: Detailed explanation of the Orange Ranger's weapons for the Ponies.

Equestria 101 – Orange Weapons

"Fire in the hole!"

A muted explosion rang out, sending all inhabitants racing towards the Training Room. Reaching the thick doors first, Billy slapped his hand on the panel next to the doors; causing the heavily armoured panels to slide apart with a muted groan. Coughing at the smoke that belched out, he yelled into the room.

"Everything all right? What's going on?"

"Training. No need to worry."

As the smoke thinned, Billy gaped at the sight in front of him. The two Ultra Rangers were fully morphed and were brandishing their weapons at each other. The small explosion had been caused by a close-range blast from the gauntlet weapon of the Purple Ranger. His jaw dropped open further as he saw that the armour of the two Rangers was scorched and dented in places. The Orange Ranger had his Sabre held in a double handed grip and had the tip pointing directly at his team mate's chest. Not only that; the walls were scorched and smoking from repeated impacts of lasers and fireballs. Shaking away his shock, he made a mental note to strengthen the armour of the internal walls if the Ultra Rangers were staying for longer.

Seeing Billy's shock at the damage, Weihan lowered his Ultra Sabre and nodded once to Eliza. In twin flashes of light, they demorphed but kept their weapons summoned. As the rest of the ponies and Spike gathered in the doorway, Weihan rested his Sabre on his shoulder and made to move out of the Training Room. Two weeks had passed since their arrival and there had been no attacks. The hometown of the Rangers – Ponyville – was being repaired and monster shelters were being constructed from blueprints created by Billy. The Orange Ranger had seen the blueprints and had made subtle adjustments of his own that had increased the protection but not added to the weight. A few nightly trips to Ponyville to help with the automated defence wirings had been an interesting experience…as had babysitting the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"We're done. Sorry about the damage, Billy."

Billy shook his head slowly as the ponies behind him erupted into giggles. He didn't mind the damage as the automated repair system would take care of it but he was very interested in the weapons that were wielded by the Ultra Rangers and he asked as much before the Orange Ranger left the Training Room. Weihan considered his question thoughtfully and allowed Eliza to step back. Lifting up his Raptor Sabre, he swung it through the air a few times before speaking.

"This is my Raptor Sabre and it is my primary weapon…which means it's the one I call upon the most. The blade is made of an alloy of Universal Steel mixed with a small amount of Zycordian Silver. The edge is one micron of refined Zycordian Diamond; meaning it will never dull or break."

Billy was impressed. He had heard about the strength and resilience of Zycordian Silver, but never thought it would be possible to create an alloy out of it. Somehow in the dimension of the Ultra Rangers, such an alloy had been created and moulded into the main weapon of the Orange Ranger. Admiring its sleek look, Billy almost missed the next words of Weihan.

"The mines on Zycor were attacked during the creation of the Ultra Crystals and were defended by Ninjor and Auric. The two warriors failed in their mission and were returned to Eltare with life-threatening wounds. However, they were able to stash away a small cache of silver and diamonds for the creation of the Ultra Weapons. Knowing that just simple blades would not work, the scientists and technicians worked many secrets and abilities into the weapons."

Running his fingers along the handle, Weihan pressed one of the hidden buttons. Holding the blade away from himself and the Rangers, he twirled the Sabre in the air once; causing the blade to seemingly retract and become replaced with flickering flame. Taking up a defensive stance with the Sabre, he attacked the open air in front of him before returning it to a ready position. Billy rubbed his eyes at what he was seeing; a metallic blade had seemingly retracted in on itself and transformed into fire. Where the fire had come from, he wasn't sure…but he could feel the heat radiating off the blade. As the Orange Ranger reformed the Sabre, he almost wished that a similar weapon could be created for him.

"The weapons are connected to the Grid created by the Orange Ultra Crystal and they complement it with their own strengths. Even if the Orange Crystal is taken out of its home dimension, the other Crystals can create a secondary Grid to draw Power from."

Pressing another button on the handle, the blade of the Sabre changed to its 'energy whip' mode. Cracking it in the air a few times, Weihan reformed the blade and carefully balanced the handle on an upturned palm. In his other hand, the Ranger summoned a small orange blaster that he deftly spun around. Letting the Sabre drop off his palm, he caught it by the handle and let it vanish in a flare of light. Crossing over to a panel on the wall, the Orange Ranger inputted a few commands and the walls vanished; only to be replaced by a grassy plain with a city skyline on the far horizon. Squinting to make out the buildings, Billy's eyes widened as he recognised it as Sydney – host of the 2000 Olympics.

"This is my Raptor Laser. It fires off concentrated Grid energy blasts and can shoot out a stream of flame to scorch any enemy nearby. It has one more interesting feature that can take some enemies off guard."

As he spoke, Billy saw several humanoid entities materialise out of the ground. They had the general shape as Putties, but were bulkier and much more intimidating. As the last syllable left the Orange Ranger's mouth, he jerked the barrel of the Laser up, rotated it around and squeezed the trigger – causing a bright orange beam of light to extend. Twirling the new lightsaber in the air, Weihan turned around and slashed it through the not-Putties, causing them to fall apart in large chunks. It certainly seemed that the Ultra Rangers had weapons for every kind of situation imaginable…except for an extremely heavy fire fight. As he expressed this to the Orange Ranger, he watched in confusion as Weihan smirked and dismissed the Raptor Laser Sabre.

"Raptor Cannon!"

In a flare of bright light, what looked like a hand-held heavy cannon appeared in the Orange Ranger's arms. Billy and the ponies openly gaped at the menace it exuded and felt a slow trickle of fear creep down their spines. Aiming the Raptor Cannon at a Golem that had somehow survived the destruction, the Orange Ranger braced himself and fired. The resulting energy blast all but vaporised the Golem's top half and left its legs twitching in place for a few seconds.

"This is my Raptor Cannon and that was a shot with a fifty percent charge. A full hundred percent will utterly destroy anything in sight. There's also an additional mode on this thing, but I haven't tested it out too much for any real data to be gathered. Sorry guys, shows over."

As the Rangers nodded in admiration and trotted off with Eliza, Billy walked into the Training Room as the scenic scene shifted back to the scorched walls. Looking at the Raptor Cannon in the Orange Ranger's hands, he let out a low whistle of appreciation and expressed his wish that the Ultra Rangers could stay longer. Weihan snorted and shook his head.

"I'll ensure that you won't even know we're gone."

TBC…


	13. Dialogue

AN: Mostly dialogue filled chapter. You can probably guess at who's asking what. Just gives a bit more insight to the world of the Ultra Rangers.

Equestria 101 – Dialogue

"Hand me the soldering iron."

"Here. Catch."

"Thanks. Hey, I have you talked to Ashley about your day job?"

"Not yet. I saw how Sam reacted last week though. I don't want him to go through the same experience. It's probably better with you and AJ. She knows you're a Ranger and can accept it as she knows you're doing all you can to protect the Earth."

"Yeah, I guess. Sam will have to go through that as well. Hopefully he will keep our identities secret. He's a good kid and he'll do the right thing eventually. Why are you so hesitant? The rules aren't there for a reason…it's why we could attack the Moon Fortress."

"Wait, you attacked a Moon Fortress? Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"Yeah, we attacked it a few minutes before we were pulled here. Rather interesting to see particle cannons being fired in space but I'm sure you've seen that before, Billy."

"Actually, no. Never seen a particle cannon go off in space. Plenty of lasers and even a positron cannon, but no particle cannon. Big blast yield?"

"Uh, I don't mean to get off the subject but…"

"Whoops, sorry Eliza. Anyway, you can tell Ashley. I'm sure that he'll understand. Sam will be going through the exact same thing as him anyway…wait, why do I fee like I already said that? Now can you hand me the voltmeter?"

"I got it. Are you sure Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's Zords will have these upgrades as well? I'd hate to have them at a disadvantage."

"You said their Zords were in a subspace pocket right? The changes will be done the next time their Zords are summoned. And Eliza, just think about it for a while. If he knew then situations like this would be a whole lot better on the both of you."

"I guess you're right. Huh, you know what I just thought of?"

"What?"

"If Applejack meets AJ and what will happen then."

"Can't say that hasn't crossed my mind a few times as well. She'll be fine…then again, she'd have to be in the Ultra Cavern to meet them. It probably won't happen before they leave."

"So, wait, back up. Weihan, you said you don't have rules for your Powers?"

"Correct. My internal guide explained it to me as wanting the Ultra Crystals to straddle the line between good and evil or something like that; but Zordon said it was because the Ultra Crystals weren't fully stabilised or something. Why they couldn't go into the Vault of Rules, I have no idea but that's all in the past. Literally."

"So are there any downsides? Or has it opened up more possibilities for your team?"

"You sure you want it explained? It'll get long-winded."

"We're no going anywhere soon."

"Point. All right, to answer the question yes and no. I say yes because it has allowed us to be freer when fighting. We still adhere to most of the rules whenever we can as to not abuse the Powers granted to us. For example, we still try to destroy the monster when it is normal sized but in a situation where destroying a normal sized monster cannot be reached, we bring out the Zords. Fortunately, that only has happened once. If a monster starts off giant when we do not have the Zords summoned, we still summon the Zords and go through the whole 'large battle' procedure; although we haven't had to summon any Zord since the whole de-aging thing."

"Master Vile did that to you as well?"

"Yeah, except the de-aging only lasted a few weeks before time snapped to normal. The only real side effects were that the Ultra Rangers supposedly revealed themselves much earlier but I'm getting off topic. As I was saying, the options to destroy a giant monster Zordless are available to us but they haven't been utilised since my first battle."

"Wait, you destroyed a monster? The Ogre that defeated the Power Rangers right? I saw that on the news and heard the arguments that you were a threat to the security provided by the Power Rangers or something."

"Yeah, I defeated it with an extremely powered-up slash from my Sabre. That's a move I haven't been able to pull off since. Well, that and the strange spinning attack I destroyed Apollonia with. I'm getting off topic yet again. One of the major downsides to us not having rules is that while Xonix, Zedd or whoever comes next can and will attack us anywhere; we cannot jeopardize our identities; even though there are no rules for us in that regard. The reason for this is probably the same to all Rangers: protection of family and friends.

Whereas Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire and Master Vile never really attacked outside of Angel Grove, except during the saga of the Green Ranger clone, Xonix has attacked while I was on holidays with my sister, father and his girlfriend. Actually, that attack took place the day before the assault on the Moon. The reasons for us not revealing our identities are simple: we don't want our parents to worry or be blackmailed. When I first arrived on the scene, the Australian Prime Minister all but demanded I reveal my identity to the public and work for the government. After a couple of battles, I…uh…politely declined."

"That's what it's called now? Pretty much threatening the PM into surrender is 'polite declining'?"

"I don't want to know…well, that's the identity and battle escalation covered. What about the personal gain issue?"

"Pretty much a non-issue for me. The only power I use on a daily basis is teleporting places and creating the odd magic duplicate from time to time. Hmm, should tell the others how to infuse magic energy into my double to ensure he doesn't run out of juice. Seriously though, we're not going to use our powers to rob the National Mint or something. We're still in High School and apart from the constant monster attacks; we live pretty much normal lives.

We're in a war; even if the attacks in Angel Grove aren't things we have to concern ourselves with. This justifies any action we take as actions in war and not escalations in and of themselves. Zordon and I had a discussion about this once. He agreed that the Ultra Rangers are our own team and are not restricted by the rules precisely for this reason. In the eyes of the ancient Morphin Council as well as the Eltarean High Council, the Power Rangers are akin to the regular army. They fight what needs to be fought and worry about the battles in front of them. The Ultra Rangers are the Special Forces, mercenaries and bounty hunters rolled up into one package. We're quick, deadly to whatever is in front of us and ensure the job is done by any means necessary."

"I see. That makes sense I guess. One last thing; have you ever regretted any of your actions in the past?"

Weihan closed his eyes and thought about everything since that fateful day. The Ogre, Apollonia, Steven Johnston, the bad future…it seemed that no matter where he turned there was always something worse lurking around the corner. The sadistic hunt with the Wraith and the sensation of its blade slicing into his flesh had made him realise just how vulnerable humans were and he had made a decision to do anything he could to stop Xonix from taking over the Earth. As the monstrous images crowded to the forefront of his mind, he smiled softly as the image of AJ's face shone through behind the shroud; eclipsing the evil forces. He saw his friends accepting the Power and the thrill at seeing a future armour mode being used. The answer to Billy's question was quite obvious.

"No, I don't regret anything."

TBC…


	14. Multiversal

AN: Bit of back-story into the Multiversal Opener…

Equestria 101 – Multiversal

"Billy, you have to sleep some time."

Billy shook his head absentmindedly and turned back to the device on his workbench. It was a cylindrical device with two antennae on either side of a miniature satellite dish. There was a screen on one side over a mini control panel with fairly large buttons. The person behind him sighed in exasperation and shook his shoulder. Finally turning away from the device, he looked back in annoyance but softened his features when he saw the worry on the other figure's face. Stretching his back and arms out, he looked to the other side of the workspace where the shuttle was in the final stages of construction. All that was needed was to enchant it with the necessary spells and it would be ready to travel.

"I know, Edward. I have a feeling this will be useful in the other dimension if the shuttle is destroyed."

Edward Steel looked at the device and the blueprints quizzically. Based on the strength of the armour plating on the shuttle with the technology level of Equestria, there would be no reason for the shuttle to be destroyed upon landing. If his specifications were followed, the armour could even take a direct hit from a Megazord finisher and survive relatively intact. He had also submitted a last-minute addition to the shuttle: twin Vulcan laser turrets mounted on both sides of the shuttle and controlled from the cockpit. The change had been accepted by the representatives of the High Council and they were to begin work early the next morning…or in a few hours.

"What is it anyway?"

Billy looked at his device and chewed his lower lip thoughtfully.

"It's a prototype Multiversal Opener. A doorway between two dimensions opened by scanning the energy signature of a person or a monster and searching the entire Multiverse for like energy; it's still a work in progress but I hope to have the kinks worked out before the trip tomorrow."

Edward thought about it. From what little he knew about the Multiverse; new dimensions were being added almost every second. The humans had even made a movie about the concept of multiple dimensions…something about sliding doors or the like. The odds of successfully opening a doorway to the correct universe were astronomically tiny…unless the energy source was a specific one that had come from an alternate dimension itself. Those odds were also incredibly small but the thought triggered something in the back of his mind about a strange crystal that had fallen out of the sky one day…whatever that was, he had been unable to access it after the purification. It was interesting that Billy had thought of the idea but it would be useless…unless it actually worked. The possibilities of being able to study a Ranger from another dimension were endless and if a stable communications channel was able to be opened from that chance meeting…oh, he was salivating at the thought. If that happened, he fervently hoped Billy could somehow transmit the data to him.

However, the flipside was more chilling and the most likely occurrence. Instead of a Ranger coming through, there could be an even stronger monster or otherworldly being making its way through the portal. The humans had created a fictional being of Cthulhu; yet there had to be dimensions in which the being was real. The same went for the strange mirror monsters that were strangely concentrated around Sydney, Australia. Even if a Ranger was pulled through, there was no guarantee that Ranger would want to defend a place filled with ponies.

"Billy, there is a slim chance that that will be an energy transference. You may end up with a few of your Rangers scattered in the Multiverse."

Billy nodded as he considered the possibility. If he just left the Opener as it was now, it wouldn't activate unless there was a moderate impact against the side. Well, the impact would have to be coupled with the pressing of the main button but surely there wasn't anyone in Equestria who could be that clumsy. Nodding to himself, he carefully lifted the Multiversal Opener from the bench and placed it next to his bed.

"I get that. I'm stopping work on it though. As it is, it can't be activated by pressing the button. I don't know why I began creating this anyway. Maybe I need sleep."

As the former Ranger crawled under the covers of his bed and switched off the light, Edward looked thoughtfully at the device. True, it had the potential to bring about mass amounts of destruction and despair if used incorrectly; but at the same time the possibilities were limitless. He hoped that Billy never managed to get it to work.

For both dimension's sakes.

TBC…


	15. Tendrils of Evil

AN: Everything will make sense in the end…enjoy!

Equestria 101 – Tendrils of Evil

"Are you sure you're alright?"

He waved off her concerns with a nod of his head. For the past few days, he had been in and out of sessions to try to figure out what those two strange words had meant and why his eyes had seemingly glowed with green light. As far as he knew, the Green Ranger was quite literally in the past for all of them. It was an undeniable truth…just as it was that Aisha was dead and Billy was…he didn't know. Communication with Aquitar had revealed that Billy abruptly left the planet soon after the Countdown and the 'Z-Wave' and various sources in the Intergalactic community had sighted him on a few planets but the rumours and sightings were years old. With what had happened at the gathering with the power transference…he didn't know about anything anymore. Running a hand through his spiky hair, he sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

"She knows something about him; I'm sure of it."

Kim chewed her lower lip as she leant on the doorframe. Tommy had been seeing the Mystic Mother to see if any active magical connections were present on his body after an extremely chance meeting with an elderly British gentleman who had introduced himself as the purified Finster. The reformed monster maker had known of his forgiving of the purified Zedd and had hinted at the Mystic Mother being able to scan energy signatures; hoping that would catch the attention of the Ranger. Tommy had been a little leery of allowing Rita to scan him for energy signatures but at Kim's insistence; he had relented.

"Are you sure? If the Aquitians don't know where he is then how could she?"

He shook his head wearily and fell back onto the soft mattress. The information she had told him didn't make sense. He knew there were alternate dimensions out there but from what he understood, the dimensional walls that surrounded them were notoriously difficult to break through. The only way a permanent door could be opened was…well, it was an impossibility as sustaining the door against the natural defences would require a great deal of power. Even using the raw powers of the Zeo Crystal and the Great Power wouldn't be enough for a stable door. The only power source that would have had a chance would have been that Project Ultra that Zordon had been working on all those centuries ago…however the project had fallen through eons ago.

"She said that it was an Interdimensional signature and it combined some strange magic with Zedd's. That doesn't make sense. Zedd is purified into Edward and he doesn't have enough magic in him to fry an egg!"

Kim nodded at Tommy's words. After Zordon's sacrifice, all humanoid evils had been purified with the exception of Master Vile but he had died a year or so ago. Lord Zedd was no more and Rita had transformed into the Mystic Mother and resided in Briarwood with Finster and the purified Scorpina. Divatox was on Inquiris looking after things after Dimitria had to unexpectedly leave the planet on an urgent matter. Everything in the universe was quietly humming along at an easy pace except for the new Rangers in Auckland and the faint stirrings of some warlord named Grumm. She opened her mouth to reassure her husband when the phone started ringing. Tommy looked at it warily and reached over to it – almost expecting it to bite his hand.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was scratchy with static but was smooth and had richness to it like smoothly melted dark chocolate dripping off honey nougat. His brain buzzed with energy as subtle tendrils of energy wrapped into his brain and swayed him over to the 'other side'.

"Tommy; it is time."

TBC…


	16. Magic Therapy

AN: Edited for better flow AKA how _not_ to plan future chapters…

Equestria 101 – Magic Therapy

"So, how are you feeling now?"

"Not good. Not bad. Numb still."

"I can imagine. You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

"How can you say that? They were right in front of me! I could have reached out with the Megazord's arm or pushed the monster away but instead…instead…"

"You were in shock and your body was still recovering from the earlier incident. Also, from what the Princess told me, you were exhausted after an hour of cider pressing. The power surge granted by morphing only lasts so long before it runs out."

"I guess…have you ever seen any deaths?"

"Yes. Too many…too many faces and feelings cut off in one moment. I wish I could say it gets easier but it doesn't. You should be very alarmed if seeing death gets easier each time."

"What? Why?"

"If you become desensitized to death, destruction and the chaos of monster battles, you become detached from the very people you're trying to protect. That can have extremely chilling effects like total detachment, losing your emotions and in a worst case scenario you can become the monsters you fight."

"That's…actually kind of scary. Becoming the monsters, I mean. How do you stop the pain from seeing death?"

"I don't block it out or try to brush it off in any way. The faces of the dead…they strengthen me and help me never lose sight of my goal of destroying Xonix. If I lost sight of my goal, I would become just like the Ultra Psycho Rangers, twisted and mindless beings that only care for battle."

"I guess you're right. Are you sure you're all right to be walking up and around though? From what I heard; you were frozen the longest. How did they manage to get you off the planet anyway?"

"From what I heard, it involved a lot of heavy lifting on the part of Rachelle's Werewolf Thunderzord. Man, I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. From what little the Astro Rangers saw of it, they tell me it was a magnificent machine."

"And the Phantom Ranger didn't help?"

"Well, he's…he has his own mission. Hasn't told any of us what it is but, whatever it is, it's important. Hey, I forgot to thank you for earlier."

"Thank me? For what?"

"I was in battle with Psychogre a day or so ago and out of nowhere, a purple blast of light knocked him back. When I turned around, I saw you fighting the mechanical monster. Hey, no, don't…here. Suck on this. It'll make you feel better."

"Are you sure it's all right? Like…this?"

"Yeah, that's good. Just don't bite down too hard; those saltwater toffees can shatter pretty easily. Just don't ask for more; you ponies shouldn't have too much salt in one hit."

"Thanks. And yes, I tried to charge up my weapons like you showed us and I might have charged them a bit too far."

"No, you didn't. It was good as it allowed me to confer with Will and Justin on finishing up the dimensional doorway…then I went to Hercuron with Rachelle and an hour later was turned into a human popsicle for nearly a day. Just another day at the office. Though I did attempt to communicate after the battle but no one picked up."

"Yeah…Applejack's family and a random sales pony found out our identities."

"Nope. Not gonna ask. The past two days were enough of a headache."

"I really appreciate this, you know."

"I know. You need some form of other guidance now that Zedd has the thirteenth Ultra Crystal at his disposal. Damn thing travelled dimensions just to end up here. I guess it was fate that the Multiversal Opener was activated in your battle with Parascythe and it was fate that myself and Eliza were transported here."

"Is that why Applejack and Dash are in your dimension now?"

"Yeah, they're getting the help they need. I just hope that…"

"Hope what?"

"That I don't step on Billy's toes with the whole mentoring thing and push him out of the spotlight. I can't be around here forever and I seriously doubt you'll be fighting anything that needs me here for an extended period of time."

"Don't sell yourself short. We need your help and I'm sure Billy sees it the same as well. You've seen and done things that none of us have. Plus, you have information about things that aren't in any of my books"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You need to keep your head on straight and keep focused on your goal. Zedd's not going to roll over and by crossing the 'killing' line, he's expecting you to avenge their deaths and fly off the handle. You, as leader, need to ensure that everyone stays in line and rash decisions aren't made. You think you can handle that?"

"Yes. I mean, you'll be here and Billy as well. Thanks Weihan, I feel…better than I was before."

"Just doing my job, Twilight."

TBC…


	17. Rangernapping

Equestria 101 – Rangernapping

It was getting worse.

Tommy Oliver paced back and forth in Angel Grove Park as he tried to wrap his mind around the words he had heard only a week or so ago. The strange voice that had been on the other end of the phone and…coming to his senses a few hours later. Kim had said that he had been rather angry with something and his eyes had flared green and red energy for a few minutes. Strangely, he also had been ranting about needing to be somewhere to help 'him' destroy 'them'…whoever the people in question were. He had a strange feeling that Discord was involved but he didn't know who Discord was. Frankly terrified for his sanity, she had called up Anton Mercer and Principal Randall to ask if Tommy could have a few more weeks leave. She had quickly explained the situation to them and they had agreed it would be for the best.

A quick trip to see Mystic Mother had provided some surprising information. Sometime before he had begun working with Anton Mercer, Tommy had apparently been exposed to a strong magic spell that should have – by all accounts – improved his memory but it had apparently backfired as he had been exposed to too many spells during his Ranger career. According to her and Edward Steel, there was only one being that was capable of such strong magic – Lord Zedd. The two Rangers knew that Zedd had been purified into Edward and that his evil energy had vanished into the ether; yet their sharp eyes caught the uneasy glances Edward had shot at his wife. When they had asked about it, Edward had admitted in private that the Mystic Mother had found a small dimensional anchor on the former Ranger but had admitted he didn't know where it led to.

"Are you sure you are all right?"

Nodding his head, he looked up at the two figures around him. Although Edward had said that the dimensional anchor was nothing to be worried about, the Mystic Mother had decreed that The Light and his family go with them to Angel Grove in case of emergencies. Tommy didn't really like being babysat by a cocky Red Ranger but as the only protection he had was his Ninjetti Coin; he guessed it made some degree of sense. On the other hand, the other Ninjetti were going to meet up with him soon to hash out a plan for removing the anchor on him. All the other Ninjetti…except Aisha and Billy. Edward hadn't said outright that the Blue Ranger was dead when Tommy had cornered him but had said that he was out of communication range…which could've meant anything. He supposed he would eventually get the answers he was looking for.

"Tommy! Hey!"

Looking up at the familiar voice, he smiled as he saw Adam, Rocky, Tanya and Kim walking up the path towards him. The White Mystic Ranger was chatting with Tanya; while the others were cautiously looking around themselves in case of danger. He doubted any evil being would attack them as there were three semi-active Power Rangers with them – and one could even call upon a dragon. He waved in greeting and waited as they came closer to him. As introductions were made, a strange voice in Tommy's head made him step away from the group. It didn't seem like his inner voice nor was it the telepathic messages of Edward or the Astro Rangers.

_Is it ready? I am growing impatient with the delays. Drakonis has been sent and we only have a small window of opportunity._

He shook his head slightly. The voice was extremely familiar and if he didn't know better; he would have said it was Lord Zedd's. That was an impossibility as Zedd was long gone. Noticing the concerned looks from his friends, he smiled and shook his head again. Talking with the Rangers, his mind thought to the strange differences in the voice. For one thing; it was rougher and seemed more forced…almost as if the speaker's head had changed. Grimacing internally, he stomped down on that train of thought. Zedd was gone and the evil energy was floating in the void.

_**Master, just be patient. The anchors are connecting and they will be here shortly. There…is also the slight possibility that the recipient may hear our conversation.**_

That voice he knew – Discord. It seemed that his hunch was correct and Discord was involved with whatever had temporarily taken control of his mind and body. Inhaling deeply, he opened his mouth to speak before a blinding pain crashed into his brain. Staggering forwards, he dropped onto the ground on all fours as the pain grew. He was aware of the others crowding around him, as well as the three Mystic Rangers performing some sort of spell that apparently fizzled out.

_Discord! What was that?_

_**I…I am not sure. It could be that dimensional transport without adequate protection is taxing on the human body. Remember, we are doing this without a wormhole and it is the wormhole that grants protection from the strains of dimensional transport.**_

_I am aware of that! Hurry up! The damn helper of the Rangers is close to capturing Drakonis! If we don't have them before that happens…_

_**Patience, Lord Zedd. They will be here shortly – all five of them.**_

"Zedd…spell…"

Those words were the only things he could croak out before the pain increased tenfold and he fell to the grass in convulsions. He was dimly aware of the others dropping and crying out in pain as well and in another corner of his mind, he gasped in shock as they started flashing in their Ninjetti colours…except Tanya; who was glowing a solid yellow. Fighting through the pain, he forced his eyes open and looked straight at the stunned and frantic trio. Staring into the eyes of Leanbow, he forced out a short sentence before feeling the strange sensation of being sucked upward into…something.

"Tell Edward…Zedd is alive."

TBC…

AN: I know Zedd is alive and you know Zedd is alive…but the Rangers in the 'original' dimension don't! Well, I guess they know now…


	18. Legacy Of Power

AN: Taking cues here from the history that was at the beginning of the junior novel Power Ranger books…and a few other tidbits.

Equestria 101 – Legacy of Power

"What are Power Rangers?"

Princess Celestia looked down at the form of Shining Light and smiled warmly at the confused tone her friend's voice held. Nodding once, she watched Applejack and Twilight Sparkle cancel their transformations – or 'demorph' as Billy called it – and pondered how she would break the news to her. So much had happened over the past few months and even before that…so much so, that she didn't know where to start. Fortunately, she was spared from babbling on by a voice from the doorway.

"Many millennia ago in a different dimension, a great battle between good and evil waged for supremacy of the Universe. The forces of Light were commanded by the Champion of the Grid – a mighty warrior/wizard known as Zordon; while those of Evil were helmed by the dark sorceress Rita Repulsa. The fight raged on for years and neither side seemed to gain any ground…until one day a temporary truce was called."

Shining Light looked to the door to see the same biped from earlier walk in. In a sharp contrast to his earlier tiredness, he seemed to be full of renewed energy and had a slight spring in his step. She watched as he strode over to the Princess and whisper something in one of her ears…she couldn't really hear the words, but it was something about a door being fixed. Apparently, this was a good thing as a wide smile spread over Celestia's muzzle and she nodded sharply. Billy leant against the wall closest to her and pulled a strange object from the pouches on his bottoms. It looked like a small golden disc that had large cracks running along its surface…and it had a small hole in the centre of it. He placed it lightly in front of her and paused to let her glance at it. On the surface was an etching of a strange creature; unlike any she had seen before. Its massive head filled up the tiny area with a massive protrusion behind its head. Three horns pointed toward her…but the effect was somewhat diluted due to the hole.

"Rita promised that she would withdraw all of her forces if Zordon won a small game she had devised. It was a fairly simple coin toss but the rules were those with the most coins at the end would win. She stated that the alternative would be an all-out assault that would deal a serious blow to their forces. Zordon agreed, but only if the coins provided were those that he had just received from a great Zord Master. The game was quick and at the end of it, Rita had lost. Of the six coins they had started out with; she only had one while Zordon held the other five."

Billy paused in his story and judged Shining Light's reaction. Conversations with Weihan had pointed out the stark differences between the final battles between Zordon and Rita between the dimensions. The battle in the Ultra Crystals universe had lasted for over two weeks and had culminated in Zordon storming Rita's palace almost single-handedly. The option of the coin battle had come up but that had been shot down quickly by a strange Ranger that had shown up. That had also been when Rita had unleashed Drakor into the battle and that decision alone had caused Rita to abandon the admittedly silly idea.

"So, Zordon won? Did Rita withdraw as she promised?"

Billy shook his head with a sigh and retrieved his damaged Power Coin. Although he was able to morph with the Element of Acceptance, the Power Coin still held a faint feeling of nostalgia for him and he would hold onto it for as long as he could.

"Rita withdrew her forces but activated a spell that would send Zordon into a time warp. Knowing that she would try an underhanded move; Zordon activated his own counter-spell that encased Rita and her most loyal followers into a space dumpster. The plan was for her to aimlessly drift in space until the end of time erased her from existence. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. While Rita drifted in her sleep, Zordon's time warp was placed into a pure crystal Warp Tube to allow communication with him. His allies had recovered the coins and bonded them to highly advanced technology that would allow the bearer to tap into the power of the mystical Morphin Grid to become super-powered warriors.

As the bearers were chosen, they would be sent into situations where the regular peace-keeping forces would not dare to tread. The term 'Ranger' first was used around three hundred years after Zordon's imprisonment and the fighting force was known as 'Zordon's Rangers'. Some time after, Zordon came up with the name 'Power Morphers' for the device used to transform and the term 'Power Rangers' was introduced into the Universe. As the level of evil activity in the Universe lessened slightly, Zordon received word that Rita's dumpster had crashed onto a small planetoid orbiting a fairly young planet. He gathered up the Coins and travelled to the planet, hoping to watch over the life-forms and protect them. That planet would be called Earth."

As the Midnight Blue Ranger paused to take in a deep breath, Princess Celestia listened in fascinated awe as the tale was spun in her mind's eye. The thought of all of this happening even before she had come into being was amazing and she wondered how old Dimitria had to be…as she had apparently known Zordon by name and had seen him before he was forced into the time warp. Glancing at the two Rangers, she smiled as she saw their expressions holding the same amount of stunned wonder as her own. On the other hoof, Shining Light looked like she was about to burst with the new information and knowledge she was receiving. There was no doubt that everything would take a short while to sink in; including the knowledge that there were other dimensions out there. That certainly went against all the information that had been fed to the masses by the Equestria Board of Education.

"Fast forward to the year 1993 and the planet had been covered by the dominant life-form. Human beings that had evolved from apes ran over the lands and built great cities and monuments to vaguely defined Gods and even explored the space closest to them. One such mission accidentally stumbled on the planetoid Rita's dumpster had crashed into. An option was discussed to send in a robotic probe to send it into a nearby black hole but that was shot down due to funding constraints. The next option would define the future history of the planet for the next ten years. Acting on their own, an astronaut opened the dumpster that contained Rita…and paid for it with his life.

Free for the first time in ten thousand years; Rita set her eyes on Earth and began a campaign of destruction. Alerted to her reawakening, Zordon and his assistant teleported a group of five young humans to his Command Centre to grant them the power to become Power Rangers. After some initial reluctance, we accepted and became Earth's first Power Rangers."

He paused slightly as memories of battles long gone flashed into his mind. The fight with Madame Woe, being knocked out of the Megazord by Tommy and even the fight against Ivan Ooze; all those battles taught them what defending the planet was really about. A smile spread across his face as he realised he hadn't really answered the question in any great detail.

"A Power Ranger is a protector of the weak and innocent from those who would seek to conquer and rule everything. They are armed with mystical weapons and powers that can do the job the military cannot and fight those that cannot be defeated by conventional means. In most cases they are the first, last and only line of defence against the Evils in the Universe and range from having the weakest Powers in the galaxy…to having the strongest Powers in the Multiverse."

He paused, wondering how he should deliver the next line. Admittedly, it was a rather cheesy line as it was…but it still had to be said for Shining Light to understand the true weight of what a Power Ranger was. He opened his mouth but was cut off.

"As Power Rangers…there is no greater honour than to defend those we love."

TBC…


	19. Elemental Upgrade

Equestria 101 – Elemental Upgrade

It was funny how things worked out.

Spike leant against the wall as he watched Twilight lower her head once more and charge at Rarity, her horn flashing with magic. The Green Ranger leapt to one side and retaliated by kicking out with her back legs. The buck missed the Purple Ranger but scored a direct hit on Rainbow Dash as she was sent crashing to the ground by Pinkie's Smile Slicer. Fluttershy was blasting off remarkably precise shots from her Tail Stinger and was agilely dodging any blasts that came her way from Applejack's Buckin' Cannon. On the other side of the Training Room, the human Rangers were sparring as well. As was the case with the ponies, they were in full morph and the Orange Ranger was doing serious damage to the walls again.

"Raptor Cannon!"

Weihan ducked a flying kick from Jason and drew a bead on the Red Morphin Ranger. After Kim had stated that one side would be destroyed in the upcoming battle, she had lashed out with a flying kick that had surprised no one and had teleported out moments after. He had barely made it back to the Command Tower before the transformation spell surrounding him had disintegrated spectacularly. According to Applejack, the force of the energy backlash had knocked him out for a few hours and Fluttershy had helped Eliza drag him to the Med Bed to get him checked out. He had also been informed of a rather disturbing development: that the Rangers and the two Princesses were starting to slowly recall images and sensations that had happened during the time under Love Tick's spell. A quick chat with Billy confirmed that even if the memories were to be fully released, there would be no hard evidence…no pun intended. Still, the Midnight Blue Ranger had resigned himself to comforting the Rangers and the Princesses to the inevitable.

"Ankylo Hammer!"

Spinning around after shooting a tight cluster of shots, Weihan fell backwards as Rachelle's hammer swung at his head. Hitting the ground hard, he rolled away from a wayward blast from Rainbow's Lightning Cannon and retaliated in kind with a weak fireball. Flipping to his feet, he stumbled forward as Billy's Acceptance Lance smashed into his back with a great amount of force. Using the slightly off-kilter momentum, he dove to the ground as a glowing sphere of energy from the Allosaur Pulsar impacted against the far wall. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he blocked a jab from Eliza's Carno Claws as a barrage of brown darts filled the air. Chuckling to himself over his insistence that Rebecca not call the weapon's name in front of the baby Dragon, he channelled fire into his armour and sent out a weak stream of fire from the 'coin' at the Midnight Blue Ranger and Red Morphin Ranger.

"If this keeps up, we're going to have to import more ZARS to run repairs."

Billy chuckled under his breath as he glanced at the various scorch marks and acid burns that lined almost every inch of the Primary Training Room. He had suggested that the Primary Training Room not be used as it was smaller but Jason had overridden his concerns and had stated that – if necessary – the two separate training sessions could be amalgamated into one all-out melee. Weihan had readily agreed to that idea and had spent the first five minutes of the session throwing charged fireballs at a particular section of floor. Billy didn't want to know why that was his target…but he stopped after the first few layers of reinforced armour tiles had burned away. He knew that the Primary Training Room had been the site of their…interesting adventure…and didn't want to know all the details. Just hearing a brief snippet of their activities had been quite enough and he was extremely glad that Spike had missed the situation completely.

"Spike, how are we doing for time? How long until the turrets come down?"

Blinking in surprise, Spike checked the digital chronometer on the wall and mulled over a few numbers in his mind. The free-for-all had lasted just under forty-five minutes and the first wave of laser turrets was programmed to drop down in…

"Three minutes. Weakest first and then thirty minutes of steady strength growth."

Nodding as the sweat trickled down his face, Weihan reassessed the underlying motives for this extended morphed training session. An all-out battle would be taking place sometime in the next thirty hours and they needed to be prepared. He had limited the Ultra Rangers to using their Battle Armours in the Training Room as he had serious doubts the armour would be able to withstand a direct blast from the Assault Armours. On the battlefield…well, all bets were off there. He had aimed his attacks at Billy and Jason specifically to test the boundaries of their powers. Billy was doing a remarkable job with using the Acceptance Lance and the Tricera Cannon and he was on the verge of discovering what the next step was. On the other hand, Jason was struggling to keep up with the powerful attacks being directed his way and would really need a Power recharge sooner. He had broached the subject with the Red Ranger but it had been declined. While wanting to hang onto the Original Powers was all well and good; it wouldn't do much if the enemy took advantage of the gap in strength.

"Magic Blast!"

Whirling around at the close cry, his eyes widened as two streams of purple energy barrelled towards him. Only a quick dive to the ground saved him from testing out the armour on the helmet. Snapping his Cannon up, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open as he looked at the Purple Ranger. Purple tongues of flame were running over her armoured body and it seemed to be intensifying. His mind flashed back to when he had last seen this ability being used and swallowed hard as he remembered the destruction of the Blazing Rush finisher. Nodding to accept the challenge, he poured more Ultra energy into his armour and braced himself for the inevitable beam battle that would happen.

"Elemental Zeo Armour!"

Billy blinked under his helmet as he saw the Ranger Armour covering Twilight start to change. While her helmet stayed the same, the Element Crystal shifted location to emerge in the centre of her chest. The energy ripples began to solidify and turned into twisted blades of metal that reminded the Ultra Rangers of the attachments on the Orange Psycho Ranger. An armoured vest settled onto her shoulders and integrated the Magic Launchers as part of its design. Swallowing hard, Weihan's eyes flicked to the ceiling where the first of the turrets was starting descend from concealed hatches. Disturbingly, the turrets in this Training Room looked like old-fashioned space ray blasters off crappy B-movies with slightly bulbous emitters. He wished he had looked up to the ceiling to see what was being done by Pinkie and Rarity as he saw dried white foam around the heads.

"Megablasters Fire!"

All of the Rangers and Spike hit the deck as lasers began to pulse out from Twilight's armoured form. However, the purple beams struck the turrets that had yet to begin shotting at the Rangers. As the turrets were disabled, the lasers began to shoot at seemingly empty patches of ceiling and revealed concealed turrets. As the laser barrage petered out, Weihan allowed the stored energy in his Battle Armour to dissipate and looked at the destruction around him. Gingerly rising to his feet, the Orange Ranger saw that the so-called "Elemental Zeo Armour" had a slight reddish tinge and the outline of red around the Element of Magic was more pronounced and held faint circuitry designs in it. Sharing a quick glance with Billy, he allowed a smile to spread over his face as his mind buzzed with new possibilities.

It seemed luck was in their favour…

TBC…


	20. Adjustments: Purple and Red

AN: Takes place after Chapter 7 during the three day gap.

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Purple and Red

She opened her eyes to the sound of birdsong.

Rolling away from the window, she curled up in bed and shook her head to herself. Whatever she had eaten the past night would be stayed well away from in the future; especially if it had given her dreams like that. Strange monsters from other dimensions and a hydra robot were just too wild for words and she briefly wondered if connecting with the Power had also connected her to a wider universe. Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes and stared up at the ornately decorated ceiling of the accommodations in the Command Tower. As Ponyville had been mostly crushed by the monster attack, Princess Celestia had asked that they stay in the Command Tower until Ponyville was rebuilt. They could teleport from either location within a moment's notice but the Princess had urged them to use discretion. Tracing her gaze over the images above her, she glanced to her right at the others.

They had stayed up practically the whole night talking about the new experience and what it meant for them to be Power Rangers. Amusingly, most of their discussions had been on what to call the team as a whole. The name Equestrian Rangers was brought up a fair amount by Applejack and Fluttershy; while Rangers of Equestria had been Rainbow Dash's and Pinkie Pie's idea. The Element of Magic had finally reached a compromise by saying that Equestrian Rangers would be all six of them together and Rangers of Equestria would be them if they were ever separated from each other. That didn't seem likely but she had a strange feeling the worst was yet to come. After all, they had only defeated one monster fairly easily only by using their blasters. The strange bird things had vanished but there would be no telling if something similar or much more dangerous would come next. Zedd wasn't going to give up so easily and that meant they had to be on their guard at all times.

Billy had also given them three rules to follow. These were the rules that Power Rangers everywhere in the known multiverse had to follow in one way or another. Breaking them would risk the complete stripping of powers from said Ranger and a barring of ever holding Powers again. They seemed simple enough to follow but she wondered what the escalation rule actually meant. Was calling upon a more powerful weapon to use against a strong monster considered escalating the battle or was it just a natural action taken within boundaries of a battle? If Zedd continued on his current path of sending down monsters, wasn't that an escalation of battle on his part? If so, they could pull out whatever weapons they had in their arsenal without fear of retribution. If not, wouldn't it still be a moot point as they would be in a war against Zedd?

"Twilight? You awake?"

Glancing to her left, she nodded at Applejack and sat up as best as she could on the bed. The bruises on her body ached in protest but she knew she would have to get used to the pain on a daily basis. Looking at the Red Ranger, she attempted to settle into the role of the leader as best as she could. Of course, as she had the most powerful Element of Harmony, she was a natural leader but now…well, she was the 'official' leader of the Rangers. The blonde maned cowpony had a strange faraway look in her eyes and looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"What's up? Did you have freaky dreams as well?"

Applejack nodded once and tried to make sense of the images she had seen. It was true; she had expected strange things to come after receiving the Powers, but to have them appear so soon after seemed like they were being rammed into place by some external force. Images of being trapped in a strange cavern with a familiar cyan Pegasus while shadowy monsters lurked outside was one thing; but images of tall buildings, more humans in strange clothes and armour was another thing entirely. However many times she tried to convincer herself the images were nothing more than a dream; something deep inside her kept telling her otherwise. She would probably have to ask Billy about what they meant and if they were dream images or something more sinister.

"Yeah, Ah had freaky stuff rollin' round in mah mind last night. Might hafta ask Billy about it or if Zedd can plant images into one's brain. Then again…they felt so darned real as well."

"What do you think about this whole thing? It's a bit late to back out now and I doubt anyone will _want_ to back out…but we didn't really get a chance to talk about it last night. I think even Rarity slipped out sometime in the first few hours."

Applejack nodded and sighed softly under her breath. The rush experienced when morphing was incredible and she had felt like she could take on a thousand Nightmare Moons at once. However, that feeling had faded around five minutes into fighting the monster and she had to seriously focus on not damaging the surrounding areas any more than they already were. If Billy hadn't told them that their Element Blasters were ready to be used…well; they would have run out of ideas then and there.

"Ah don't know much about the others, but Ah don't think we can run away from this. This isn't like Nightmare Moon an' her wantin' of Eternal Night. This affects everypony and every creature on Equestria. We're in this for the long haul an' Ah doubt anything will change that."

Seeing Twilight's nod, Applejack reflected on the rules of Billy. Applebloom knew of her identity which wasn't going to be a problem but Granny Smith and Big Macintosh would be left in the dark. Knowing them, they would worry about where she was in the attacks and wouldn't know that she was on the front lines; a thought that comforted her somewhat. The Element of Honesty pushed down the feelings that welled up from within and sighed again. Seeing the concerned gaze of her friend, she smiled weakly and waved a hoof in front of her.

"It's nothin' but Ah wonder if Ah can tell Granny Smith and Big Mac one of these days. Ah'm guessin' that this Ranger stuff will probably get in the way of the Applebuckin' Season and even the cider pressin'…an' if they don't know…Ah dunno what can be done 'bout that."

Settling back in the bed, Twilight looked out the window at the open landscape before her. She frowned slightly at the thick column of smoke rising up from Ponyville and nodded in agreement. The only person around her that she dealt with on a very close basis was Spike and he knew about her being a Ranger. Once the Treebrary was rebuilt; he would be running things there, unless Billy had something up his sleeve. The only thing that was different about herself and Applejack was that the blonde Earth pony was extremely close with her family and would be hard pressed to come up with excuses with why she needed to leave for a battle – seeing as the Element of Honesty couldn't tell a lie to save her life. Something told her that the issue of Applejack's family not knowing of her Ranger Status wouldn't be an issue for long…although she wondered what the consequences would be of them finding out.

Rolling out of bed, she steadied her hooves on the cold floor and smiled reassuringly at her friend.

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine."

TBC…


	21. Adjustments: Pink and Green

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Pink and Green

"Can we just drop the subject?"

Scowling at Billy's retreating form, Rarity shook her head to herself and tried to process what the genius had told her. She had awoken to find him missing from his room with no note to give away his whereabouts. While exiting the room in full view of her friends hadn't been the smartest of ideas, the resulting teasing and commotion had been enough to bring Billy from wherever he had hidden. However, the formerly retired Ranger was covered in strange oils, grease and scorch marks. His explanation had consisted of things that made absolutely no sense to her and had dealt with gyroscopic connections, friendships over machinery and something called an 'elemental control matrix' that was proving difficult to install. She had waved off his explanation and continued whining about how he had left her in the middle of the night; but it had been rather playful…until she had seemingly hit a raw nerve somehow.

"I don't get it either."

Stifling a yelp of surprise, she whirled around to see Pinkie Pie leaning against the wall with a hoof on her chin. She didn't know how long the Pink Ranger had been behind her but a part of her didn't care either. Seeing Pinkie in the dress she had created for her at the Gala was well worth the randomness that seemed to sprout around the pink Earth pony. Seemingly oblivious to her mild discomfort, Pinkie began rambling.

"All you said was something about being his wife and if you had died in his arms then what would he do? He shouldn't have gone off in such a huff like that but I'm sure he has his reasons. Hey, I had a strange dream last night that involved a spell that made everyone really close to each other but there was a strange human that I'd never seen before there. And then that image went away and was replaced with a dark shadow that stretched all over Canterlot and was only defeated by a strange Ranger! What does that all mean and why can I see more and more strange things? Do you know?"

Rarity shook her head and tried to think about anything other than the strange feeling between her rear legs. It seemed to her that every time she was near Pinkie Pie, she found herself being drawn into the strangeness of the pony. Now that she had received the Green Ranger powers, the feeling seemed to have intensified and had even started to creep into her dreams. The images that her brain had conjured up were extremely inappropriate to even think about but they held a strange realistic quality to them. On one hoof, they could be images from the future that were being transmitted to them through the 'Morphin Grid' that had been created from the Element Crystals. Sounds of explosions and metal on metal were inevitable in the future and that would be one possibility. On the other hoof, the heaving moans and sounds of ecstasy weren't things normally associated with sounds of war…unless the 'spell' Pinkie had mentioned was brought into play.

"I am not sure of what the images mean, Pinkie. They could be from the future or even from another plane of existence. But I digress, how are you feeling after all this? We've been caught up in a battle and we haven't had a chance to really reflect on what the legacy means. What will be the end result of all this?"

Pinkie stared at the white unicorn thoughtfully. The Element of Laughter had changed her after she had used it against Nightmare Moon; but the Element Morpher had given her more confidence that what had been unlocked was for the best. Zedd had attacked Ponyville and his monster had almost killed all of them. It had taken a while for the shaking in her legs to stop and soon after that, she had been reunited with the Element of Laughter once more. The battle had gone by in a blur and their Element Blaster 'finisher' had destroyed the fishy monster within seconds. Viewing the recorded images of the battle didn't help in putting her mind at ease one bit either. The Pink pony could see her armoured form leaping about and striking the monster with the Smile Slicer and had attempted to replicate that ability unmorphed. The small bruise on her nose was more than enough deterrent for not trying that again.

The Cakes were safe as Sugarcube Corner hadn't really been all that damaged. It would still take a while to rebuild the outer walls and the fourth wall was dangerously close to breaking yet again…but everything would be fine. How she knew it; she didn't know but it seemed possible what their Powers would strengthen their will to fight. She just hoped they didn't turn them into soldiers unable to sympathise with anypony.

"I think the end result will be that Zedd will be destroyed. However, what events happen from here on will only be decided by the Creator. He has the ability to decide what happens and what doesn't happen but I'm sure he has the best path planned for us…don't you?"

Rarity looked to where Pinkie was staring intently but could only see the decorated ceiling. Shaking her head with amusement, she wondered what her parents would think of her on the front lines of the battle. They would be proud of her, there was no doubt about that, but they would also be consumed with worry about her safety. And if they knew, they would be walking targets to be utilised by Zedd in whatever way he thought fit. To be caught between a choice of saving the world or saving her parents was not one she would want to wish on anyone. The Green Ranger looked down the hall to where the room of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was and shuddered as she recalled seeing Sweetie Belle's life slipping away before her. She didn't want that to happen again and she made a vow to not allow any more families be ripped apart by the sting of death.

Even though Sweetie Belle had been saved, her mind always kept flashing back and thinking about the…other scenarios that may have happened. The other scenarios usually involved Billy appearing moments after her sister had died and she was sure those images would haunt her dreams for weeks to come. Although Billy hadn't stated it outright, she was sure that Zedd would be here for the long haul…whatever that meant. A long campaign meant lots of battles which would mean destruction and death.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Blinking in surprise, she turned to see Pinkie still looking in the same direction, this time with a smile on her face. The Pink Ranger seemed to be nodding to someone she thought was there and had spoken to whoever the presence was.

"We'll be all right in the end. Life will always find a way…"

TBC…


	22. Adjustments: Blue and Yellow

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Blue and Yellow

"Fluttershy, have you seen Applejack?"

The Yellow Ranger paused in her step and looked over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash was streaking down the hall towards her at a moderately fast pace and she looked…nervous for some reason. Shaking her head as the new Blue Ranger flew closer, she dropped to the ground and winced as she heard the crash that signified a…less than dignified stop. Opening one eye, she looked at the slightly crumpled form of the Blue Ranger and shook her head in resignation. Ever since waking up in Twilight's room, they had been testing out what they could do now that they had Ranger Powers. Twilight had discovered her magic was now stronger than before and had spent a good thirty minutes trying to extricate a book from the ceiling of the Main Command Chamber. Applejack had practiced her bucks on a tree in the Palace Gardens but had to abandon that project as the ground always began to shake after each buck.

"Are you all right, Rainbow? Even for you, that was quite an impact."

Rainbow Dash shook her head as she tried to work out which way was up again. She had been speeding down the halls of the Command Tower in an effort to see if her speed had increased, but the rather circular nature of the halls had just left her feeling very dizzy. She guessed it was good training for when Ponyville was inevitably chosen to supply the rainwater for Equestria but all that circling made her question if she had missed the elevator or the stairs sometime in the past three loops. There was a definite increase in acceleration but that just made it that much harder to come to a safe stop. She wished there was a place with wide open spaces in which she could fly around…but such spaces weren't to be found in the Command Tower. At least, not as large as the space she had seen in her dreams. Even with the strange metallic objects around her, she could fly around to her heart's content and keep an eye on her secret love below.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It'll take more than that to stop me! But you haven't seen Applejack, right?"

Fluttershy shook her head and wondered when Rainbow Dash and Applejack would admit their feelings for each other. She was sure the others could see the tension between them that had started the day after The Running of the Leaves and she was sure that one of these days it would explode in a sex-fuelled romp and hoped she was nowhere near them when it happened. She had been more than a little concerned with the images she had seen in her dreams and was trying to work out what they all meant. A giant bipedal robot holding a sword was nothing compared with seeing five figures in rather evil-looking armour with a red Z on their chests. There was more to her dream as well but the images were just out of reach…but based on the sounds she had heard, she didn't want to know what they were.

She had heard the others had had the same strange images pop up in their dreams but had brushed them off as random images transferred from the Morphin Grid. At least, that's what Twilight had said they were anyway, but she had some doubts. The images felt real and there was a strange orange light that was present around her…almost like a warm blanket. When she thought of the orange light, she always had a strange sensation between her hind legs and looked for a place where she could take matters into her own hooves. So far, she only had to do that twice…which was a feat in and of itself as she had just awoken a few hours ago at least. She had heard Rarity chewing out Billy for something and she had also heard the light-hearted teasing Twilight and the others had directed at Rarity…and then Applejack had gone off somewhere to talk to her sister about some things. Whatever they were, she hadn't the slightest clue but Princess Celestia had teleported the three Crusaders back to Ponyville some time after that.

"I think she's talking to Billy or something. Why do you want to know?"

The Blue Ranger flipped onto her hooves and shrugged as best as she could. In addition to the wide open space in her dream had been another image of surprising clarity and intense emotions. She was in a cavern of some kind with some sort of shadowy beings outside. They had been closing in on her and Applejack had been injured. She was leaning over the Red Ranger and was saying something…but she couldn't make out the words. All around them were sounds of fighting and she couldn't tell if it was from the battles outside or from other times. For the first time in her life, the Element of Loyalty was conflicted over her next move. She could tell Applejack about it but there was the nagging doubt in her heart that forced her to think of what would happen if she didn't think of her the same way. Their friendship would be strained and eventually one of them would have to leave the Rangers to fly solo and her loyalty would be tested…as it would inevitably be her that would leave.

"Just some images that popped into my head last night; pretty much the same as what you dreamt about I bet."

"I doubt your dreams were filled with evil Rangers…"

Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat at those words. Evil Rangers were something she hadn't thought about but it made sense in a strange sort of way. From what Billy had told them, she guessed that Zedd had unlimited amount of power at his disposal but had only sent down one weak (by his standards) monster. The idea that Zedd could create and send down Evil Rangers to discredit them was an obvious choice down the track but she fervently hoped the evil Lord held off until they had more experience under their 'belts'. She opened her mouth to boast about how she would take down all evil Rangers when she noticed the barely perceptible shaking of Fluttershy's body and almost slapped her face in mortification. She hadn't really asked her oldest friend how she was taking the sudden change in her life.

Out of the six of them, Fluttershy was the only pony who actively avoided conflict of any kind…except when it was impossible to overlook. Even in the battle the previous day she hadn't done much against the monster other than dive-bombing it and whipping it with her tail. The Ranger that had done the most amount of damage before the Element Blasters had gone online had been Pinkie Pie and her use of her Tail Blade.

"How are you holding up? This can't be easy for you, ya know. We have to fight against Zedd and his monsters until they're destroyed. Can you handle that?"

Fluttershy looked up and swallowed. She really hadn't given future battles much thought but she knew it was inevitable that she would have to fight. The Power from the integrated Zeo Crystals had infused her mind with fighting techniques that were being converted to a quadruped stance. The most interesting things about the choices were that they looked to be all non-melee moves. Sure, there were the odd jabs and kicks for up close situations but the majority involved gunplay and long range attacks. On the other hoof, all the long range attacks in the world weren't good for anything if she didn't get over the mental block she had on fighting.

"I…I think so. If I have you girls near me, I can try my hardest against those birds. If anything else comes up…I…I don't think I can handle myself."

The Blue Ranger lowered her head and thought about the upcoming battles. If the images she had seen in her dreams were any indication, the battles that lay ahead were going to be much worse. She didn't really but into the whole idea of them being images transmitted from the Grid but she would keep an eye on the events happening around her. Or maybe all of them would forget about the dreams entirely and be reminded of them much later in the campaign. She hoped Fluttershy would have gotten over her block on fighting by then; if not, she would protect her friend. Moving closer, she placed a leg around Fluttershy's neck and smiled softly.

"You'll be fine 'cause we'll always be there."

TBC…

AN: Main 6 Rangers done. Next is Billy.


	23. Adjustments: Morphin Blues

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Morphin Blues

Billy sighed as he looked at the covered machine.

His reply to Applejack about it being backup was nothing more than a fool's dream. Alone, his Power Coin wouldn't be strong enough for the initial power-up sequence and he couldn't really keep drawing on the generators of the Command Tower for anything more than a few minutes at a time. A few minutes would seem like a hell of a lot of time, but Billy knew better. Zord battles could go on and on for hours against a particularly strong monster and not everything could be destroyed by a simple sword strike. He made a mental note to configure the Zords into the Pi Mode and see if it had finally decided to stop being incredibly random. He seriously doubted that would happen but it would be rather all right…unless it decided to attack the walls with cream pies again.

It had been done. A year or so of hard work had been granted to the new bearers and the Legacy of the Power Rangers had been extended. Sure, there were a few more bugs and kinks to be ironed out but the Rangers would be using the most complete version of the Power. Picking up the power scanner, he walked over to the ladder next to the Kindness Harmonyzord and climbed it until he was level with the Element Megabuster. Scanning the laser emitter with the scanner, he waited for the checks to complete before leaning against the metallic shell and admiring his work. He had overheard a few conversations amongst the Rangers regarding the dreams they had during the night. Even when he had slipped out of his room, he had picked up on Rarity talking in her sleep…well; it was more like _moaning_ in her sleep. He didn't really want to hear a mare getting aroused in her sleep and had left the room in quite a hurry.

He knew that Twilight had hypothesised that they were images from another plane of existence or even from one of the many futures that awaited them…but he knew better. To be dreaming of images that clear with all of their sensory inputs present meant that the dreams were from sometime in the future. The time frame could range from anywhere between a few weeks to a few months but everything seen in the dreams would eventually come to pass. He chuckled lightly under his breath as he recalled the strange dreams he had the night after their first battle. The images he had seen were the revival of the Dinozords, the first summoning of the Ninjazords and the destruction of the Power Coins. Of course, they didn't have access to the Command Centre's teleportation network then but he had pondered over the images for a good long while before deciding that they wouldn't happen in his future. He had pretty much forgotten about the images entirely until the Power Coins had been destroyed…but by then it was too late to do anything about them. Even Zordon, with all his knowledge and power, had been stumped by the significance of the images when he had finally been confronted about them.

Looking down at the confirmation beep, he let a brief smile cross his face before feeling for the emergency door on the side of the Zord. As the door slid aside, he slid into the opening and flicked on the internal lights. Zordon had stated that all things in the past, present and future were stored in the Universal Morphin Grid and, once seen, the images would most definitely come to pass one way or another. He just wished he had dreamt about…that…happening so he would have known what was in the future for him. He knew that wouldn't have done anything anyway but still, it would have been nice to have a small bit of forewarning. He certainly didn't have the slightest clue what would be in the future that would provoke that response from the Green Ranger but he hoped he was nowhere near her when the image finally came true.

Walking through the passageway to the emergency cockpit access, he paused for a brief moment and pulled out his Morpher. The golden Coin glinted in the light as he shook his head sadly. Dimitria had warned him against using Princess Celestia for his backup battery as, in time, she would eventually become connected permanently to the Power Coin. Of course, one or two charges were fine for the regal alicorn and the burden had lessened somewhat with Luna's magic…but there was still that thought nagging in the back of his mind. If his Power Coin was somehow recharged, he wouldn't have to worry about using the Princesses for power…but that was as likely as happening as Jason falling from the sky. He had heard rumours before he left that the physical embodiment of the Morphin Grid had been found on Earth but getting to it would have been a headache and a half. Explaining to his friends why he was on Earth would be a challenge but if they brought up Aquitar…he dropped that thought before the memories could surface.

Opening the door into the cockpit, he looked around him at the inert machinery and chuckled to himself. Luna had been quite puzzled by the idea of a motion-capture control system and he had to explain over and over why it would be a good idea instead of the usual control system. Of course, the Rangers of the past were all humans and, as such, they could easily use their hands to grasp at control sticks and press buttons for the various weapon systems. He couldn't be in six places at once to help control the Zords, so a different configuration had to be utilised. He had used Luna as a base model for the earlier designs and had listened to the input of the Princess of the Night to adjust and tweak the model. The only problem he could think of would be for the two Pegasi and their controlling of the Zords' flight systems. He was sure the Power would stop the Rangers from smashing into the viewscreen but if not; he would have to figure out something quick.

Walking over the platform to the underside of the viewscreen, he pulled out the main access panel and began tinkering around with the Main Fire Control. As the Power had been passed on, he would be relegated to the role of a mentor. The Princesses would be there to assist and Dimitria would be hovering over his shoulder, but it was assumed that he would take on the bulk of the mentoring duties. After all, Princess Celestia still had to preside over Canterlot as the Royal Monarch and attend the excitement of her court-related duties. Once, she had secretly recorded a session of the court to show him and he had used it as a sleeping aid. Princess Luna also had her duties as the Princess of the Night and whatever else she was doing all over Equestria to improve her public image. Barring those events, she was filling in for her sister during the Royal Court night sessions. Judging from the bouts of thunder and lightning on some nights, it was going well for her.

Checking the connections one last time, his thoughts drifted to Dimitria. The Inquiran had informed him that she would be travelling to different mental planes to communicate with the beings there and see what their next course of action would be. He was a little leery of that happening as he was sure that Zedd could infiltrate the dimensions and cloud her mind; but Dimitria had insisted she would be well protected. He supposed she would be fine as she wasn't likely to meet anything really bad in those sub-dimensions, especially if they were centred on Equestria. Discord hadn't been killed after all and had only been imprisoned. Celestia had stated that his Tomb wouldn't allow any shred of his mental abilities to penetrate and he felt slightly better at that thought. While he still had access to his Powers, he would be a battle mentor but if the Power Coin was destroyed…he would have to deal with the rapid Power loss on his body first. He made another mental note to check on the supply of water he had stored from The Eternal Falls. Even though he didn't have to drink or bathe in it regularly, being dunked in it would accelerate the healing process and would help with the loss. It would probably add a few more years to his life…but that was a drop in the bucket anyway.

Satisfied that Fluttershy would have full control of the Element Megabuster, he replaced the panels and thought about what being a mentor would mean. He wouldn't be expected to have the answers to everything and would gladly accept help from an outside source…but an outside source would more than likely be either Celestia or Luna. Of course, if he was faced with something that came totally out of left field, he would act in the way he thought was correct to preserve the Rangers…even if that meant attacking a fellow Ranger. However, he would accept help if the outsider proved to be better suited to the task but he would learn from that individual and add to his knowledge.

He would do his duty for the sake of his Rangers.

TBC…


	24. Adjustments: Royal We

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Royal We

"Are we doing the correct thing?"

Princess Celestia shook her head slowly as she surveyed the rebuilding of Ponyville. Earth ponies were dragging heavy slabs of stone and wood for the unicorns to mould into bricks, pylons and boards. The Pegasi were then lifting up the materials and gently slotting them into place. From her vantage point near the remains of the Treebrary, she could see Rainbow Dash barking out orders to her weather team and Applejack using her bucks to push aside heavy logs. So far, there hadn't been any earth tremors starting around the Red Ranger but she was keeping a watchful eye on her.

"Rather late for second thoughts, sister. Just the two of us alone wouldn't be of any use against Zedd and you know it. The Elements of Harmony on their own wouldn't do a thing against those monsters either."

Princess Luna sighed deeply and nodded once. Of course she knew about how dangerous Zedd was and what damage could be done if left unchecked. The images that Billy had first shown her were much worse than the horrors Nightmare Moon had wanted to do to the ponies. Eternal night caused by not allowing the sun to rise was one thing but blocking it out with the smoke from constantly burning fires was more horrific than she could comprehend. She politely stepped out of the way as Rarity walked by with a large sheaf of paper in front of her. The unicorn was mumbling to herself about how the new buildings should be reinforced to not only provide protection but to also be pleasing to look at. Thinking back to what she had seen the previous day with Zedd's fish monster, Luna gave the new buildings a fifty percent chance of surviving another attack. Billy had raised the idea of monster shelters being built but her sister had shot the idea down immediately. Preparing for the construction of shelters would do nothing but provide undue worry and concern for the ponies and would cement in their minds the fact that the monster attacks would become a weekly occurrence. Luna had a strange feeling that decision would come back to bite her sister on the flank but wisely said nothing.

"I get what you're saying, sister. Even Billy can't stand up to Zedd at his current strength. I fear we have set them on a path where there will be nothing but pain and bloodshed down the road."

"Such is the life of a warrior, sister. Remember what I told you happened after Nightmare Moon was sealed."

Luna sighed softly again and nodded once. After she had heard the small amount of information concerning Discord, she had gone through the archives herself to find out exactly what had transpired after Nightmare Moon had been sealed. What she found was incredible. Using her status as one of the Royal Alicorns, she had been able to access material in the lowest levels of the Canterlot Archives and had read the information written during the Time of Discord. She had even been able to access the rudimentary research done on the Elements of Harmony by the unicorn Night Shade. The findings seemed to be consistent with what she had felt but she had been slightly confused by mentions of strange other planets and historical events that she knew hadn't happened in their world. It was almost as if Night Shade had come from another dimension separate to Billy's; however, the chances of that happening were less than one percent.

Intrigued by the information she had found, she had relentlessly asked her sister to inform her of the Time of Discord and the events leading up to his imprisonment. That had culminated in a five hour talk of _everything_ that happened from the initial quarrels with Discord to the retaking of Canterlot and finally, the Entombment of Discord. Whatever had happened to Night Shade during the blast from the Elements of Harmony wasn't recorded but she had yet to show Billy the research that the strange unicorn had written. Of course, she had been more than horrified to hear what her sister had to be forced through in the name of retaking the throne from Discord and had wondered about the strange emphasis on a few of the names…including the mysterious Shining Light. She couldn't bring herself to ask about what had happened to that friend of hers as she could see that the wound hadn't fully healed.

"I remember, but we aren't warriors nor can we force them to become warriors for us. However, we have done just that in allowing them to take up the Power. Dear sister, I cannot help but wish there was another way for us to fight this evil."

Princess Celestia sighed softly and nodded once. In truth, she had agonised over the decision to grant the six friends the Powers Billy had developed. However, as she had allowed the human to bond the Zeo Energies with the Elements of Harmony, there were no others who could defend them as well as the Rangers could. There were to be bumps down the road and obstacles to be overcome but she could see no other help coming that could easily put an end to their problems. On the other hoof, if she hadn't allowed Billy to grant them the Powers, the sister of the Green Ranger would more than likely be deceased and her student would be showing some resentment towards her.

"The choice to fight for one's country isn't made consciously. We have simply given them the tools they will need to speed up their decision. I understand your point of view, Luna, but given the amount of time we had to prepare – we simply had no other choice. We are not all-seeing and all-knowing and we sometimes do make mistakes but…"

She let the sentence trail off and shook her head as the memories of the past threatened to overwhelm her. Composing herself, she looked up at the slow reconstruction of Ponyville and thought it would be wise to see the amount of damage done with the next few attacks before finalising the plan to build Monster Shelters. Chewing her lower lip thoughtfully, the white alicorn glanced where the six friends were taking a short break from the rebuilding and allowed a ghost of a smile to pass over her face.

"We have to believe they can do it."

TBC…


	25. Adjustments: Churning Thoughts

AN: Final chapter of the Adjustments arc. Normal ROE chapters resume shortly

Equestria 101 – Adjustments: Churning Thoughts

"So what will you do now?"

Dimitria sighed to herself and looked around her. After congratulating the new Rangers in their first victory, she had retreated into a meditative state to reflect on her decisions. As expected, _he_ was waiting for her and had seemed slightly ticked off upon learning how much information she had kept from him. She had told him that she still needed to keep the act up for the time being and it wouldn't do for him to be left empty handed. Even if this strange opportunity hadn't reared up, she could still see herself being dragged more and more into a background role in the future.

Billy had changed from the first time they had spoken, but that was months after the incident had happened. He had been working on the initial Zord designs for Lightspeed Rescue in the outpost of Hercuron and had mistaken her for Divatox. He had been full of anger and rage but had seemed somewhat willing to hear her out. He had made a noncommittal retort at the strange energy surge and had stated he would look into it if he had the time. The Phantom Ranger had been great help in tracking the movements of the former Blue Ranger over the next few years and had even asked for his technical expertise on occasion. It had been one of these such occasions that Billy had revealed the reason for his great anger but had sworn the Phantom Ranger to absolute secrecy. From what little he _had_ revealed, the source of his anger seemed to come from something Zordon did during the Countdown.

She was sure that the real reason would be brought to light down the road and would leave it to be uncovered in its own way. The human had already usurped her role as he had grown close to the alicorn sisters by talking to them about the Ranger Powers and potential projects. Even though she had her own talks with Celestia, they only covered what had gone before and not what their next moves should be regarding the Powers. Even the subject of Lord Zedd had fallen mainly to Billy to handle on his own…even though she had been the one to mostly figure out what was happening and contact Edward. However, that was all in the past and a year in Equestria had made her more than a little familiar with the underlying currents of magic. She had even discovered vast reserves of energy that complemented her own and she had connected herself to as many as she could find in the hope of somehow destroying Zedd down the road.

It was on one of these journeys that she had first made contact with the strange figure who called himself the Leader. The strangely humanoid being had allayed her concerns with a wave of his hand and had made her feel needed. She had allowed her guard to fall upon sensing that the individual was a good person and had informed him of all she was doing and future plans. Of course, she had soon felt the insistent tugging of the other presence around her but had silenced it with a bolt of magic. She hadn't felt it since then which was either a good or bad thing…but she knew it wouldn't stay away for long. She knew the being the energy had once been and knew he would be trying to recruit help from other contacts.

"I assure you will make the necessary adjustments before you join us?"

She nodded and thought to what her tasks were to be. The Leader had revealed itself to be an emissary of Evil and had revealed the source of his dimension-crossing magic. To say that she was prepared to leave then and there – not to mention informing Billy and the Princesses – was a mass understatement but the Leader had soothed her fears with a few moves that left her breathless. It had been too long since someone had made her feel extremely light-headed and she lapped up every move he executed. She had felt shamed after that but he had dismissed her concerns with a wave of the hand. Her tasks were to gather as much information about the Rangers as she possibly could including battle statistics, favourable sides and fighting potential. All the information was easily accessible in her plasma tube at the Command Tower and could be stored secretly. Once that task had been completed, she would have to figure out some way to sabotage the Zords that had been created. Dimitria wasn't a technical wizard by any stretch of the imagination but she had been given a set of data cards that would do the job nicely…provided there wasn't any external tampering done to the Zords. If some tampering or enhancing was done to them; that part of the plan would be a write-off and make it that much harder to eliminate Zedd for good.

The final task set out for her would be the icing on the cake. She would have to somehow release a highly unstable pheromone potion into the air vents of the Command Tower and use the confusion to escape the confines of the plasma tube. The pheromone would act like a strange spell of lust and would make their innermost fantasies come to the light. Of course, having them forget the experience wouldn't be that evil so the Leader had tinkered with the formula until it would surely leave their minds conscious the entire time. The downside to this was if Zedd sent down a monster with the same ability before the pheromone could be released. The weaker of the two pheromones would be assimilated into the stronger one and provide some interesting effects…such as eventual reclamation of memories of events that happened while 'under'. It would be devilishly devious if all Rangers, Billy and the two Princesses were kept under for a long while and if the pheromones wore off in the middle of the act…that would be the end of the Equestrian Rangers.

"However, I will require some time before I call you. My forces are still pitifully weak and the discarded one has informed me of a place where I can find a new helper. I am sure I can entice him to my side with the right…power."

Of course, she had asked him about the Power Source he used to break through the dimensional wall. Even though the majority of his essence was still performing the spell, the small amount that had shaped itself as the Leader was more than happy to inform her of his acquisition. The strange 'Ultra' Crystal had immediately caught her attention and had stirred up memories of the project she had been assigned to thousands of years ago. To think that there was one dimension out there that had perfected the project they had worked tirelessly on was amazing…as had the idea that a thirteenth crystal had been used to remove the evil that had come from Master Vile's energy. A few days ago, she had even had the privilege of 'touching' the Dark Ultra Crystal and gauging its power. She had been unable to communicate effectively for two straight days but had waved the problem away as a belated side-effect of travelling through the dimensional wall.

She knew that wherever there was an evil, there would also be Good to stop it. The Dark Ultra Crystal had left its home dimension aside and in that dimension would be the so-called Ultra Rangers. Barring an incident with Billy's Multiversal Opener, she didn't think any of them would be journeying through the dimensions to look for their lost Crystal. Zedd would be able to create strong monsters and power strong spells with his thoughts alone.

A small part of her felt sad that she wouldn't be able to help the new Rangers learn and grow into fine warriors. It had been so long since she had a Ranger team to look after but the promise of greater power was too interesting for her to overlook. Also, she was interested in the other side of the fight and yearned for the chance to learn more and more about the evils they fought against. It would be a learning experience mixed with a taste of world conquest…but it still went against everything she had fought so hard to protect. She would see what happened in a few months. If the situation changed; she would call the deal off then and there. If not…

"I will do everything you require, Lord Zedd."

TBC…


	26. Purificatiion

Equestria 101 – Purification

"And you are certain of this?"

She couldn't see it but knew when the being nodded. Shining Light sighed to herself and looked around the bare room she was currently resting in. It had been one week since she had been freed of Blackened Heart's body. One week since she had first felt the strange changes affecting her and one week since the strange voices had started around her. They had told her the painful truths about her situation and would not go away until she internalised and had memorised them. Even though she had been laying dormant in Blackened Heart, her 'mind' had been actively sucking up every single piece of knowledge that her dark half had managed to scrounge up. As such, she knew one of the most dangerous and forbidden spells in known history – the Ritual of Purification. The voices hadn't really touched on that aspect of her knowledge until recently…or rather, after the Dark White Ranger had been seen.

During the first practice session with the Rangers, she had heard his voice. It seemed different than the others; calmer and more soothing with a hint of experience. The usual voices seemed to respect the new voice as well and had practically given it free reign over her. It had informed her that she wasn't supposed to exist outside of Blackened Heart and she had defied the timeline by being able to break free before the destruction. However, instead of the jeering taunts and cries of the other voices, the new voice had given the vocal equivalent of a shrug and had dropped the subject completely. She had asked who the voice was and his reply had puzzled her even more and yet…at the same time; filled her with warmth and love.

"Does it really matter who I was? I am here now to guide you as a true mentor."

She had listened intently to his information and had marvelled on the information he seemed to know about the human Rangers. He talked about them as if they were his own children and had repeatedly asked that she not reveal his presence and name to them as it was for the best that they thought him gone for good. He also seemed to know and harbour a great deal of hatred for Zedd and knew exactly where he was in his Cavern but wouldn't allow the Rangers to know the location. Until the time was right, it was just too dangerous to attack Zedd directly. However, the information he had just conveyed filled her with a sense of doubt and foreboding that wouldn't really go away.

The Ritual of Purification was the only spell in existence with enough power to purify the Dark Rangers…but it would come at the cost of her remaining time. Granted, she knew her borrowed time was rapidly running out and she would have had only a few more weeks worth of stored energy in her…but if the Ritual was to be performed, she would vanish into the Ether right then and there. No goodbyes or farewells…just there one second and gone the next. It was incredibly depressing for her to dwell upon and the fact was made even worse by the fact that she was expressly forbidden to tell Celestia about it…until the time of her final decision. Chuckling mirthlessly to herself, she lifted up her front hoof and stared at it. Already, she could see it was beginning to become slightly transparent and the chuckles turned to silent sobs as tears ran down her cheeks.

Celestia knew there was only a small window of time she had and the Princess of the Day was making the most out of it. The past week had been spent catching her up on everything that had happened from the Summer Sun Celebration to the first appearance of the so-called Ultra Rangers. Who they were, Shining Light had no clue of but she had been fortunate to see the recorded images of their battles. The amount of power they had at their disposal was awe-inspiring; as was the fact that they wielded it with such discipline. It would be so easy for them to take the power they possessed and rule the planet but it seemed they left that to the actual rulers of...Earth. The voice seemed to be very knowledgeable on the relationship of the two other dimensions entwined in the fate of Equestria but made no mention of how he knew.

Making an effort to stop crying, Shining Light walked over to the window and looked out to the rebuilding that was still going on in Canterlot. The Monster Shelters were being reinforced with high-quality armour plating and Princess Celestia had decreed that supplies for a few months be placed in each shelter…just in case of an extremely long battle. It was amazing how time had flown by without her.

"You are a strong mare, Shining Light. It will hurt her for a moment but she will surely move on."

She nodded and smiled as she saw the regal Princess visiting the rebuilding sites with the purple unicorn that always seemed to be next to her. Yes, the Purple Ranger would be a good companion and lover for her beloved once she had faded from the world. She would still be with them of course; permeating every fibre of their bodies as the energy and magic that flowed through Equestria. The thought gave her the creeps sometimes but she forced herself not to dwell on it.

"There is one more aspect that needs to be completed for the Ritual to achieve an irreversible effect."

Shining Light nodded as the image sprang to her mind. It looked to be a flickering flame carved out of the most glistening rubies. It was set in a small anklet that was studded with dazzling diamonds enrobed in the purest gold. The voice had informed her of who its true bearer was and what power it would bestow on her. Even as the image was conjured up in her mind, she saw flashes of a heavily armed and armoured warrior slashing through monsters with the broadsword in its hands. She spoke with a low bow of her head as she accepted the task ahead of her.

"I will do as you ask, Zordon of Eltare."

TBC…

AN: Now who didn't see that coming a mile away?


	27. Ninjetti

Equestria 101 – Ninjetti

"What do you mean you already knew?"

Edward sighed and looked up wearily at a raging Leanbow and shook his head slowly. He remembered casting the spell on Tommy but had hoped that his 'other half' would have forgotten about it…but that didn't seem to have been the case. Anxiously looking at the closing portal that led to the Mystic Realm, he wondered how Rita would take Udonna's news. In all actuality, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner…but on the other hand, he knew it was coming ever since he had received that call from a one Kim Oliver. How the other Zedd was able to sway the thoughts of Tommy and mark him despite the Interdimensional interference, he had no idea. If he had the access of a powerful magic user, it would be child's play for Zedd…but he doubted the evil Lord would want to get his hands dirty anyway.

The day had started out easily enough. Opening up the shop had been simple and Finster had volunteered to work the register. Rito had popped in the day before with some unusual readings that were concentrated on Angel Grove Park…but a preliminary search had turned up nothing that wasn't already known before. There was something about the Park that had always attracted the bizarre – even before the Power Rangers had arrived. Rita was meditating in the Mystic Realm but Garnet had sensed something amiss. The purified Goldar had dismissed it as the 'old habits' flaring up again…and had almost been knocked over by the appearance of Leanbow, Bowen and Udonna. The 'White Witch' had vanished into a portal that led to the inner sanctum of Rita and Leanbow had exploded in anger and frustration over the situation. Bowen – or Nick as he was known in the Human world – had the grace to help Garnet up from the ground and quietly explain the situation to him.

"I have known for some time that the essence of Lord Zedd was not destroyed in the Z-Wave and passed through the dimensional wall."

"Why didn't you tell us? We could have done something!"

Edward rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a massive headache coming on. Garnet was apparently having an easier time dealing with the hot-headed Red Mystic Ranger and was apparently in the middle of explaining the various complications that went with Interdimensional travel. Edward stifled a smile as he saw Finster hand Garnet a glass of water, while picking up the explanation from where the purified being had left off. However, Leanbow wasn't to be so easily dissuaded from his goal of finding and rescuing the kidnapped Rangers.

"What would you have me do, Leanbow? I do not have the power or presence that I once commanded and most of my contacts have long since been destroyed. It was by pure chance that the scanners on Inquiris picked up Zedd's energy during his preparations of the spell and a decision had to be made within a few days or we would have never known where Zedd was going."

Leanbow clenched his fists and opened his mouth to reply but couldn't think of what he wanted to say. On one hand, he was sure that if he leapt into the portal that the former Rangers were sucked into; he would've been able to save them from a terrible fate. No matter what lay on the other side of the portal, he could have easily defeated it in a matter of moves. Barring that, he could have called on his Ancient Mystic Power or even morphed into the Wolf Warrior. However, on the other hand, he knew Edward had a point and had done what needed to be done. Still, there was a chance that they could somehow piggyback the signal from the dimensional transport…right?

"No. Piggybacking the signal now is impossible. Even if it were possible, there are an ever-growing number of dimensions in the Multiverse. We can know the dimension they were taken into…but if we don't know the exact co-ordinates, we could end up entering the dimension well before they arrive or even after they have destroyed everything around them. Zedd isn't stupid. He chose those four for a reason and the Yellow Zeo Ranger was only a bonus. If the Rangers on the other side aren't prepared…it will get messy."

Edward sighed as the magic portal opened to deposit a weary-looking Udonna into his shop. He saw Finster roll his eyes and cross over to the door; flipping the sign to signal the shop had closed…after an hour of business. His tax return was going to be absolute Hell on him but he would always manage to scrape through somehow. He saw the question on Leanbow's lips but chose not to say anything. The Wolf Warrior would have to ask it of his own volition as the answer…well; it wouldn't be pleasant for anyone.

"What was the reason that Zedd chose them?"

Edward stood up and nodded to Garnet and Finster. The two purified beings sprang into action and closed all of the blinds around the shop. Walking over to a storage closet, Edward placed his hand on the knob for a few seconds and sighed heavily. Closing his eyes, he muttered the ancient words of a prayer of protection before opening the door to reveal a gleaming silver staff topped with a stylised Z. Stretching out his left hand, his fingers grasped the coolness of the metal and felt the phantom presence of the power that once flowed through it. Extracting it from the closet to the gasps of surprise from the three Rangers, he muttered a short incantation under his breath. In a flash of light, a flat screen appeared in front of him and he returned the replica Z-Staff to the closet; locking the door.

"To know the true answer, you must know the history behind the Ninjetti Powers. In ancient times, there was a race of proud warriors that defended the galaxy from the evils that lurked within. They were not powered by an external source; rather their powers came from animal spirits that chose their bearers in the very moment of conception. In a manner of speaking, they were a mix of the Ninja Storm Rangers and the Order of the Claw…but they were much more powerful than you or I could ever imagine. Their home was on the distant planet of Phaedos and they called themselves Ninjetti – a word they used to describe inner strength.

Their enemy was a being known today as Lokar but he has not been seen for many years. The final battle was fierce and in a decisive blow, they were able to sever his head from his body. The body, they soon found out, was a strange Interdimensional vessel that they could use to travel the Multiverse. Gathering up their top artisans and mages, they created two Power Sources of extreme strength and named them after what they could see: Midnight and Dragonfire. It is rumoured that the Power Sources briefly activated and showed the Ninjetti the path they would take before they went dormant once more. They left behind a small number of trained Ninjetti priests and warriors that could rise against any evil that attacked them."

Edward let out a harsh chuckle as he remembered what Ivan Ooze had done to the planet. While it had now recovered into a shadow of its former self, he remembered a time when it seemed that the planet would never regain its beauty after the highly destructive second-last battle between Ivan and the Ninjetti. Opening his mouth, he continued on.

"Before they left, they realised they would not be able to travel with their Ninjetti Powers intact. Deep in the heart of the Neola Jungle, they created a large monument that was to serve as a beacon of hope for the Universe. Through communication with the Animal Spirits, they were able to lay the six most powerful spirits to rest within the monument to await the day when their power would be needed. As was stated in the Lord of the Rings movie – history became legend; legend became myth and for more than a hundred thousand years the planet of Phaedos was known as the World of Death; as those who sought out the Great Power were doomed from the start.

Little is known of where the Interdimensional travellers went or where they chose to leave their gifts but legend stated that in a time of extreme need, the most powerful Animal Spirits would reawaken and choose their bearers. One would pierce the dimensional wall and a short time later, the others would follow. Even if one of the Bearers died, they would still be able to pass their Animal Spirit to one they deemed most worthy of succession."

Edward paused in his speech and thought about the events of the past. It was painfully obvious that the Ninjetti Prophecy was coming true and he hoped that Billy was strong enough to cope with attacking his friends in battle.

He had to pray that he would succeed.

TBC…


	28. Dreams of Hell

AN: Hell battle from a Pony POV

Equestria 101 – Dreams of Hell

She was having a nightmare.

All around her were tall walls of fire and rock and the flames on the ground licked at her hooves. No matter where she turned; she couldn't escape her fate. Retreating wasn't an option as a towering rock formation blocked her exit. In front of her was a large humanoid of some kind…but it was more reptile than human. Armoured scales reflected the burning heat and jagged teeth lined its maw. Somehow, she knew it was a guardian of Power and it was in the middle of battling someone. Whoever it was that thought he could get to the Power behind the guardian was deluding himself. Why she was here, she didn't know and couldn't say…only that someone had called for her help. She had heard it in her sleep and had followed the mental cry for help all the way to this place…wherever it was. Turning her head back to the battle, she could see the figure shake his head once before running towards the lizard monster. She wanted to call out to him and tell him that he didn't have to fight…but she knew it was an exercise in futility. Nothing could be done except watching the figure leap onto the back of the guardian and attempt to choke it.

With surprising speed and viciousness, the creature bucked once and sent the figure flying over the side of the platform. Stifling a silent yelp of fear, she raced after the falling figure and her heart leapt in her throat as she saw the figure's eyes. She didn't understand why Weihan would choose to be in a place like this, but if she didn't do something…she didn't want to think about it. She dove after the falling Ranger and caught him under his arms…and something started to happen that she couldn't explain. As her fur touched the outside of his clothing, pink and yellow bolts of energy travelled from her legs to the back of his costume. A split second later she had to roll to one side as two feathery wings burst out the back of his uniform.

"Fluttershy? What're you doin' here?"

Jumping lightly at the sudden voice, she looked over her shoulder to see Applejack and Twilight hovering behind her. The Orange Ranger was now clinging to one of the stalactites that hung from the ceiling and was seemingly oblivious to the two new additions behind him. She could hear the snarls and growls of the creature below them as it continued to fling up fireballs…that always seemed to miss their marks. Opening her mouth, her words came out in a scared and confused rush.

"Oh girls, I don't know why, but Weihan…he's…he's here and fighting against that monster. I tried to help him and I gave him wings somehow and we gotta help him but he can't hear us and…"

She looked over at the Orange Ranger just as he dropped from his precarious perch and plummeted towards the menacing monster. Sensing her distress, Applejack dove after the falling Ranger, seemingly not caring that she was falling faster than him. As she fell under him, a strange feeling of déjà vu washed over her and she tried to remember exactly where she had been in a position like this in the past. Shaking her head, she held her front hooves up so she could attempt to catch his attention but that turned into great shock as his body passed through her in a muted flash of red light. Looking up at her fellow Rangers, she shrugged as best as she could and continued to watch the falling Ranger. Whatever that light was, it didn't seem to have impeded his flight path any and he dropped to the ground after swooping around the monster.

She was aware of Fluttershy and Twilight dropping down to her level…except Twilight was having a bit of trouble keeping her speed on the same level as Fluttershy. While the Yellow Ranger stopped perfectly at Applejack's level; Twilight seemed to continue falling…yet her expression wasn't one of fear or terror. Her face was in what the others called the 'determination mode' and her front hooves were outstretched. The tip of her front hooves touched one of the Orange Ranger's arms before he lashed out with a strangely mule-like back kick with red light covering his legs. The monster staggered back as the Orange Ranger stared at his energy-covered legs in amazement. The Purple Ranger could see a smirk forming over his face under his cloth hood as he joined the dots together in his mind. Hopefully the additional energy would allow him to see that they were there…

But he just kept kicking at the creature like there was no tomorrow.

He hardly used his hands for anything during the barrage of kicks. Well, nothing except for the odd push or punch here and there. The three ponies looked on in stunned silence as the Orange Ranger tore into the beast in front of them…and they could only wonder about where they were and why they had been called. They saw the Orange Ranger flip back to give himself some breathing space before he lifted his hands up as a soft purple glow covered them. Twilight's smile turned into an expression of dumbfounded amazement as a smaller version of her Cutie Mark projected out of his hands and blasted twin streams of 'fire projectiles' at the monster. If she didn't know better, she would have said that Weihan was somehow using her Magic Launchers remotely. They watched the monster fly back and the Ranger take a few steps toward the monster before pausing as if seeing something.

They raced to his side and reached out their front legs to grant him more of their power…but they were blocked by a strange wall of flames. Twilight clenched her teeth together and touched the Ranger's back leg just as he fired off a lightning bolt towards the monster…but she had to withdraw her leg quickly.

"You have done well."

The strange voice came from everywhere and nowhere and seemed to have feminine qualities to it. Twilight narrowed her eyes as it reminded her of what Dimitria had sounded like before her fall from grace. Trying again to reach the Orange Ranger in his battle, they were stopped by the same wall of flame and felt themselves slowly leaving the side of the Ranger. They struggled and protested but the voice was adamant about their leaving.

"I assure you, you will see him again. When you do, he will be more powerful than you can imagine…but you will have your own problems to deal with until then."

Fluttershy stretched out her front legs in a desperate move to reach the battling Ranger. A weapon on his arm was shining brightly and she turned away as it fired into the head of the creature. Her vision started darkening as the sounds around her dropped away into comforting silence…

And the thought that he was all right.

TBC…


	29. Immortality

Equestria 101 – Immortality

"What are you talking about?"

Five faces stared back at them as Billy nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at the spot where the portal had snapped shut and swallowed once more. Maybe it had been insane of him to come out and say it so soon after his friends and the Ultra Rangers had left…but what was said couldn't be unsaid. He could sense the two Princesses also being slightly uncomfortable with his revelation, but they had agreed to tell them when the time was right. As Zedd was destroyed and there wasn't an evil being attacking the city, they had to know. Swallowing again, he looked over their faces once more and braced himself for the inevitable denial. However, there was one face in the crowd that seemed to not have the confusion prevalent on the others' faces. He chuckled to himself and spoke.

"You knew, didn't you Twilight?"

The Purple Ranger blinked at the sudden focus and tried to backpedal for a few seconds. She wouldn't say she knew with any certainty about their immortal state but had a strong feeling about it. There had been injuries they had experienced in the past that would have surely killed or seriously injured any other pony, such as looking directly into the sun without proper protection or being thrown through several thick and reinforced walls. She had also been reading about the Elements of Harmony and researching into what effect the enormous power contained within them would do to a normal pony. What she had learnt had all but cemented the realisation into her mind.

She had felt betrayed by Billy and the Princesses at first, but had come to the slow realisation that they had withheld the information for their own safety. After all, if they knew there was nothing in Equestria that could kill them, they would have begun to take unnecessary risks. Her decision to hide the truth from the others had been partly due to her denial that they were actually immortal and partly wanting to hear the actual truth from the Princesses. After all, Princess Celestia had wielded the Elements against her sister and they both looked as young as ever. She didn't know how she would react if she had to see Billy grow old and die, but it was the nature of immortality that everyone they knew and loved would die and be left behind.

"So did I."

All heads snapped to Applejack who hid her face behind her hat. She hadn't meant to find out the hard way but it wouldn't have cared either way. An accidental buck to an old and dying tree had caused it to fall on her and, presumably, break every bone in her body. She didn't know for how long she had lain unconscious under the broken trunk but when she had come to her senses, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. Using her front legs, she had managed to crawl out from under the tree halfway before her brain had caught up on the impossibility of what she was doing. After freeing herself, she had checked herself thoroughly for injuries and, much to her surprise, had found none. There was the odd scratch and bump but there were no broken bones or shards poking through the skin. She had brushed it off as a morph made as an unconscious gesture but that had nagged at her for a while until it had all but been forgotten during Blackened Heart's attack.

"I knew as well, but it was more to do with the Author sense that has come back now. Hey! I can see through his eyes again and you should really get some work done even though you just had lunch. You don't want to get caught again, do you? Get everything ready for the meeting and don't worry about the rest! I'll write it! No, you write it! What was I saying again?"

Billy ran his hand down his face as he attempted to get his mind back into gear. Three out of six Rangers knew that they were immortal – one through study, one through sheer chance and another from some random intervention. The denial and rejection of him that he had feared seemed to be fading into nothingness with each passing second. He licked his lips to moisten them and opened his mouth to speak.

"It is true; your bodies have undergone an immense amount of change as Rangers. Before you wielded the Elements of Harmony, you would have had a normal pony lifespan. You would have grown old and died while wondering why I stayed the same age. My studies and talks with the two Princesses informed me that finding the Elements gave you a few hundred years each. Merging with them granted you a few more thousand years on top of that and using them ensured you six would live on well into the millennia. Fusing the Elements of Harmony with the Zeo Crystal would have meant that you six were practically immortal. You would have still been able to be hurt but you wouldn't die from your injuries. It seems as if the Power has changed the immortality into being able to survive anything…and also attempting to reclaim memories made while under spells."

He hoped they wouldn't ask more about the images that had been creeping into their dreams. As far as they knew, the earlier lust spell hadn't worked and had left them in a waking coma. He had explained to them that the images were errant thoughts in their minds and those things hadn't really happened. What they would do if they knew the truth, he didn't know or want to find out. Seeing as he was the only one who was still around during those events, he doubted he would be getting any questions anytime soon. The other three Rangers looked slightly disturbed that such a great secret had been kept from them, but he hoped they would understand why it had to be done. He saw Rainbow Dash look at the others as if conferring with them before she spoke in an uncharacteristically low and soft voice.

"We're immortal; I'm fine with that…more so than I thought I'd be. What about you? You said that if we died, we would do so wondering why you stayed the same age. The Golden Apple tree is why the Princesses stay as young as they do, but I doubt you could eat from that and not be changed."

Billy nodded once and walked over to the console that had been at the base of Dimitria's tube. There was a light flashing, indicating new information had been transmitted and he narrowed his eyes. The last thing he needed to see was something Dimitria had been planning with Zedd and he ignored it. Tapping a few buttons, a viewscreen opened up and an image of his body floating in a tank was shown. It wasn't the recording of him after his Original Power Coin was destroyed; it was of him on Aquitar undergoing the treatment from the Eternal Falls. Only a few individuals had known that the excuse about the negative protons was complete and utter fakery and that the innate power of the Wolf Spirit was really the underlying cause for his rapid aging. The water had suppressed the Wolf Spirit to the point where it would no longer be able to destroy his cells…but he would never again live permanently on Earth.

"Some time ago, I was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition and was sent for treatment on another planet. The water came from the Eternal Falls and was used by the inhabitants to extend their lifespan by a matter of years. As I was not a native of the planet…it had an unforseen side-effect."

He swallowed the lump in his throat that formed as Cestria's image walked across the recording. One way or another, she would be continually watching over him and awaiting the day when she was reborn. Aquitians were very adamant that they would be reborn after death and would go to where their loved ones were. Of course, the only issue was that he would be surrounded by ponies and wouldn't be able to really have a deep and meaningful relationship with a reborn Cestria. Shaking himself out of his funk, he continued.

"The water energised my cells and supercharged them. Through thorough testing, I found out that my lifespan had been extended indefinitely. I will never age and I will never die. Despite this, I try to live my life if I was still mortal and able to be hurt, injured and be killed. The only things that can truly incapacitate me are life-threatening injuries, rapid blood loss and sudden Power Draining events. And before you ask, I don't think any of the Ultra Rangers are immortal either."

The Rangers nodded their heads in agreement. While it would be great if the Ultra Rangers _were_ immortal, they doubted that they would want to undergo the pain and trauma of their loved ones dying. However, the time to ask the Ultra Rangers was not now as they had just achieved a major victory over their enemy. Discord was still out there and the humanoid horse would be an extremely dangerous threat.

It was time to rebuild.

TBC…


	30. Nightly

AN: Yes, there is a big hint here as to who the new enemy is…

Equestria 101 – Nightly

"This can't go on…"

It was getting harder and harder to keep him in the dark. There were so many things he kept asking and the quartet had expressly forbidden him to reveal the true being that had attacked…but it wasn't easy. Several times he had almost slipped up but he had recovered in the nick of time. His new Master thought that he had been the one who had instigated the reign of terror two years ago and had questioned him on why he had chosen to lay low. A quick lie about the barriers holding his Tomb weakening had thrown off the scent, but there were problems in the narrative that wouldn't make sense. Running a hand up to the helmet covering his forehead, he rubbed the spot where his horn had been absently.

The loss of his horn was a glaring oversight to the tales of magic he had been spinning. Of course, he had seen the crystal that was always carried around, but had not yet made any connection to the secrets and powers it held. The last thing Discord needed was another reason for the Ultra Rangers to swoop in with their weapons blazing. The longer his Master went without that event ensured that he would forget about that time altogether. Shaking his head once more, Discord glanced at the crystal in his hands and wondered what other secrets it held within its crystalline structure. He could feel a great deal of power and magic flowing through him…but the more extravagant magics seemed to be just out of his reach. If he were a betting pony, he would have bet his, admittedly meagre, life savings that there was something blocking him…

Another issue were the Z-Centaurs that had somehow survived two years in the deepest, darkest ruins of the Everfree Forest – the ones that had been just sent out to reveal their presence. There were Z markings dotted on their bodies but the Master hadn't yet commented on what their significance was yet; something he was extremely grateful for. If asked, the lie he would tell involved the Zebra clans on Deinos Terra Firma and the mystical witch doctors that dotted their clans. All right, so he hadn't really fleshed out the details yet but that didn't matter much if the Master was satisfied with his response. After all, why would he have any reason to lie to him? He chuckled softly and thought about the surprise and shock he had expressed when his Master had awoken from his long sleep. All memory of the past thousand or so years had been mysteriously erased and there was a strange scar running down his chest…almost like an unhealed burn.

The first thought he had was that his Master had been set upon by the Dragonfire Ranger…but that quickly left his mind as the Purple Ranger wouldn't know the significance of the being in front of her. No, the wound had been caused by something much more recent and, from the looks of it, caused by a fire much hotter than what the Equestrian Rangers would be able to put out. Discord shuddered lightly as he knew which Ranger had likely caused the terrible wound on his Master. The only problem he could think of was the power output didn't really match with the records. Crossing over to a nearby console, he tapped the controls to access the magical storage centre…or whatever it was called. Grimacing in revulsion as the mind-crawling sensation returned, he accessed the fresh images and saved them down in a supremely secured part of the storage space.

"Cannot go on…but must."

He glanced behind him at one of the quartet that had wandered in. what it had been in its 'life', he couldn't be so sure about; yet there was no denying the insanity in those slowly decaying orbs. Actually, the entire body of the beast was a slowly decaying husk, only being stopped by the strangely pulsing armour it wore over its chest and shoulders. A chipped and cracked horn protruded from the centre of its forehead and Discord longed to rip the useless implement out of the being and use the powder to regrow his horn. The only good thing about the creature in front of him that he could see was there was a very good offensive mind hidden in that maggot-infested skull of his. Well, that and the obsessive-compulsive way it had sharpened its front claws into razors.

"I know. It's all for the good of the Master. Is it ready to be sent out yet?"

The being shook its head violently and Discord stepped back slightly as small bits of rotting skin flew everywhere. Cleaning was going to be a pain and a half but he would grin and bear it for the time being. Only for as long as it took to find Tricksy, reclaim Gilda and find where the true Master had gone.

"Needs only an infusion of your power. Master is still weak from the journey."

Snorting, Discord nodded and the rotting fiend shuffled out. One interesting revelation had been the blocking of his Master's powers since his awakening. The power was there and was ripe to be used; yet there could be no finesse and no precise controls with the use of hooves. Plus, he seriously doubted his Master had a growth spell to call upon when the monsters inevitably failed and were destroyed. He would have to use the power of the crystal after all…but only in small doses. He wouldn't go all out as Zedd had done.

Looking around at the room he was in, Discord marvelled at the technology once more. He would have said it was Ranger-tier technology but knew it couldn't be possible as there was absolutely no way that the Rangers would have left so much hidden technology, metal scraps and discarded blueprints behind. With the right tools and minds, he could even try to create a suitable changing device of his own…but he was getting too ahead of himself. There was a construct that needed powering and he was the only being with the means to do it. Walking out of the room once more, he lifted the crystal to eye level and stared into its depths for the umpteenth time. As with before, he could swear that there was a being or body floating deep within it…but he seriously doubted that was the case. Without food, water or air, even the most hardy of beings would surely die after two years. Shaking his head for the last time, he walked to the makeshift Throne Room and bowed in front of his Master.

The night would come at last.

TBC…


	31. Homecoming Battle

Equestria 101 – Homecoming Battle

"We're back…"

The words dropped off slowly as they surveyed the scene in front of them. Everywhere they looked; insidious red liquid was seeping out of the ground and was already ankle deep. That wasn't the most concerning part though. The aspect that brought them the most concern was the strange creatures wading through the water towards a group of terrified civilians. The White Ninjetti Ranger narrowed his eyes as his mind recalled what Justin had described the new grunts looking like. Red and yellow bodies with a mouth that took up their entire head, scaly skin, ridiculously baggy yellow or purple leggings and holding strange blades. His mouth quirked up slightly as he realised that after modified Tengas, Z-Putties and Z-Centaurs; whatever these things were, they were probably easier to deal with.

The Interdimensional Shuttle had lived up to its two-way use reputation as the Dimensional Armour had immediately sloughed off upon landing. There were a few Inquirans gathered on the landing pad: mainly members of the semi-experienced Ranger team in residence. One they had disembarked, however, the mood had changed considerably. As former Rangers, they were hailed as heroes for their hard work on Earth and, yet, there was a sombre mood in the air when Tommy had asked to see Divatox. The former space pirate had cried for her sister when she was informed of her betrayal and had graciously accepted the copy of her personal logs. She had retreated to privately mourn but not before informing them that the situation on Earth had gotten out of hand. A quick communication with Edward had revealed the problem in greater depth.

The Samurai Rangers had failed to hold back the rising tides of the Sanzu River and its water was flooding the Earth once more. Dozens of people had been killed by the Moogers and Nighlok that had escaped. The fiercest fighting had been in and around Angel Grove and Auckland. Tommy had taken command of the Ninjetti Rangers and requested a shuttle to take them to the heart of the fight. They had rested since beating back Zedd and were all itching for a new challenge. Plus, the last known location of Justin was in Auckland and the Blue Turbo Ranger needed the data they had brought back. Aiming the lasers, the White Ninjetti cleared a landing place for them while Jason nervously played with the tools in his pocket. He hoped that the materials to make the tools were in Equestria and not in their dimension; otherwise they would probably never see Billy again. He didn't know how he felt about that but forced the thoughts out of his head as the shuttle landed.

A few seconds later, they began to hear the thumps coming from outside as Moogers and Nighlok alike began to attack the shuttle. Tommy breathed a sigh of relief that he had made the Rangers morph before they entered Earth's atmosphere. The added protection would surely ensure they survived the first wave. Preparing to open the door, he scanned the audio channels for the main six Rangers. However, what he heard gave him a slight shock.

"Justin! Several Moogers broke off from the main pack and are attacking some sort of shuttle. Friends of yours?"

"None that I know of Jayden. We need the help badly, though. Maybe they'll try to contact us. I'm on my way to the site with Kevin. Megan, how's your sector looking?"

Tommy shook his head as chuckles erupted behind him. As he thought, Justin had pretty much taken over the Samurai Rangers and had moulded them into a serious Ranger team. Tapping the controls to activate the shields after the door closed, he prepared himself for the coming fight and opened the main hatch. Instantly, a small group of Moogers entered the shuttle and he threw himself into the fight. Around him, he could hear the other Ninjetti ploughing into the relatively easy enemies with very little fanfare. Summoning Not-Saba in a flash of light, he slashed the creatures in front of him before kicking them out of the main hatch. Flipping out of the shuttle into the strangely slimy water, he noticed out of the corner of his eye two Blue Rangers screeching to a halt a short distance away. Channelling his inner Falcon Spirit, Tommy thrust out his right palm at the monster in front of him and blinked in surprise as he saw it disintegrate in a flash of white light. Taking a few seconds to stare at his palm in shock, he wondered if this was how the Orange Ranger felt upon producing his first fireball.

"Tyrant Blade!"

As the weapon materialised in his hands, Jason bit back a yawn as he swung the weapon at the monsters charging in. Against small fry like these, the thrill of battle just wasn't present. It hadn't completely vanished though and, if he concentrated, he could still feel a small tremor in his gut…but it wasn't the strong pounding it had been against Goldar. Around him, he could pick up on the slight awed grunts of the other Ninjetti as they realised their Powers were now on a completely different level than what they were used to. If he didn't know any better, he would have said that some of the power from the Ultra Grid had leeched into their Grid…which was pretty much impossible of course. And yet, he couldn't deny the fact that he felt slightly stronger than he had against Goldar. Maybe it was because he was connected to the Morphin Grid of his dimension…he didn't know. What he did know, though, was that he could still strangely see what was going on in Equestria…although his couldn't communicate with them in any way.

The radar showed the location of the ponies and he felt himself slightly relax. His movements became automatic and, within minutes, all of the monsters and grunts around them were ash. Dropping the Tyrant Blade to the water-like substance on the ground, he became aware of another figure behind him that wasn't one of the Ninjetti. Tensing his muscles under his armour, he inhaled slowly and then leapt into action. Spinning around, he brought his blade up and around – in what would have been a strike to cleave head from shoulders. Instead, there was a metallic clang and he found himself looking at the oddest helmet he had ever seen…even stranger than the Ultra Rangers'.

It was red all over with no mouth-piece. The visor was full-face but was styled in a strange Japanese character. In the hands of the defending Ranger was a vaguely Samurai-styled sword with a praxinoscope in its handle. Jason felt all of the adrenaline leave his body and he pushed the blade back with a chuckle. Stepping back, he could see that the strange Red Ranger was actually a female. He didn't really have a problem with a female Red Ranger as he had seen how well they worked within a team dynamic. Nodding once, he turned his back on her and made to walk towards Tommy…but her words stopped him.

"Who are you? How did you destroy all of those Nighlok?"

Aware that all chatter around him had stopped, Jason turned around and smirked. He was aware that he was about to do a pretty idiotic thing…but he didn't really care. Dismissing his Tyrant Blade, he walked over to Tommy and the other Ninjetti Rangers and nodded once. Seeing that his mind had been made up, Tommy relinquished command back to the original Red Ranger and assembled the Ninjetti in a V formation behind him. There were other battles to be fought in the future, other matters to be settled. However, that wouldn't change the fact that they had been undeniably changed from their former selves.

"We are the Morphin Power Rangers."

TBC…

AN: Based on what I hope will be the ending of Super Samurai that will have the world being flooded instead of [Insert city name here]. If you followed Shinkenger, you'll know who Megan is based on. And, who knows? Maybe this tangent will be continues…maybe it won't.


	32. Internal Strength

AN: Set a few seconds after 101 – Harmony Warriors

Equestria 101 – Internal Strength

"What happened to you?"

Billy pulled down the blue cloth covering his mouth and smiled wryly at the Rangers. He could feel the Spirit of the Wolf swirling inside him and, although it felt as strong as ever, he knew it was the only 'morphed' form he had left. He wondered how the girls would take it, Fluttershy especially. The thought of having a Wolf Spirit inside one's self would be strange and very disconcerting to the animal-loving Pegasus, but he knew they had their own Animal Spirits within them. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he allowed a blue shimmer to cover his eyes and looked at them individually, drawing on what Ninjor had taught him on a trip to Inquiris. Connecting to the Morphin Grid created by the Element Crystals, the forms of the ponies and Spike were temporarily replaced by seven different animals. Blinking once, his vision returned to normal and he turned to the pony that had asked.

"Although my Power Coin was destroyed, I still hold a measure of power within my body that can never be taken away. Even if, by some extremely rare chance, I receive another power, I will still be able to draw on the Ninjetti links in my body."

"Ninjetti? What's a Ninjetti and why is there a link in your body?"

Billy tapped the gleaming coin in the centre of his chest. Stepping toward the girls, he crouched down so they could see the image of the Wolf in the centre of his coin. Strangely, it was the image that he had seen superimposed on Twilight…which made a slight amount of sense based on what he knew about those with Wolf spirits. They would look out for their friends first and foremost, even forsaking their own safety in the process. They would also have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and had red-hot tempers when they were finally unleashed. He wondered if there was a way for emotions to give added strength to the powers but dismissed the thought. The individual would have to be given extremely strenuous and rigorous training in order to achieve such a feat…and would probably burn out about halfway through.

"Ninjetti is an ancient Power passed on to a few chosen individuals. It is like there is an animal inside your body that you draw strength and power from. Mine is the Wolf, but other animals of all shapes, sizes and types can be granted."

"An animal inside your body? But…but…that's horrible!"

He heaved an internal sigh and turned to the Yellow Ranger. As expected, she was looking at the emblem on his chest with a mixture of horror and sadness toward the animal she thought was trapped inside his body. The kindness in her eyes and heart that she showed towards all animals was reflected in her own Spirit Animal: the caring and fierce Lion. Hastily shedding his Ninjetti costume, he crouched near Fluttershy and held up his left hand, palm facing out. Concentrating hard, his palm glowed blue for a split second before forming the image of the Wolf. He felt Fluttershy nudge his hand in an attempt to get a reaction from the animal within. When nothing happened, she looked up in confusion as Pinkie gave her a comforting hug.

"The animal within me doesn't require food, water, sleep or anything. It is just a being of energy given the shape of a familiar animal. To those who possess Ninjetti powers, anything is possible…but to extract the energy from one's body is an act so vile and full of evil that not even Zedd himself would dare try it."

At his explanation, the Yellow Ranger gave a weak nod, but she still looked unconvinced. Pinkie gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek and Fluttershy brightened up considerably. Chuckling under his breath, he guessed it was a 'proper' move for a pony that had an Octopus for a Spirit Animal. Totally random movement with focused action and intention…but it seriously made his brain hurt trying to understand how that worked. As it stood, he would have to set aside a stretch of time to attempt to connect their Spirit Animals to their Element Crystals…but one false move would mean the end of the Ranger Powers. The Elements of Harmony would be unscathed, but the magic alone wouldn't be enough to face down Zedd.

"Wait, Ah thought he did try it once. That's what was said in the video anyway."

He nodded and turned to Applejack, the image of her Bull Spirit Animal making him bite the inside of his cheek hard to keep from bursting out laughing. While it was true that Zedd had captured Kim in the past and held her coin, the Dark Lord had only drained her life energy and not touched the Ninjetti Animal sleeping within her. However, upon further reflection and talks with Zordon, the sage had stated that if Tommy had been just a few moments late, the life energy of the Pink Ranger would have been fully drained…allowing the Ninjetti Energy to come to the surface. As he explained this, he looked at the other Rangers and marvelled at how well their Spirit Animals fit their individual personalities.

Rainbow Dash had a Bat for her Spirit Animal and he had to think of other things to avoid the cringe-worthy jokes of Bat-Mare surfacing in his mind. From what he knew of Bats as Spirit Animals, he wondered exactly what doubts she had about herself and how they would come to the surface in the future. He just hoped Applejack would be there to catch the Blue Ranger when she 'fell'. Rarity's Spirit Animal was the strangest of all. He didn't know how a Komodo Dragon fell into the category of 'generous animals', so it was an enigma as to how the Powers that Were chose it for the fashionista pony. He chuckled to himself as he realised he was trying to see how the Spirit Animals could combine to form a Megazord and would have loved to see what it would look like. However, as with all things lately, there wasn't enough time, energy or raw materials to create six new Zords from scratch…even if he decided to scrap his 'pet project'. Casting an eye at the shadowed hulk, he thought it was for the best that it was completed. Even if he never regained any semblance of Ranger Powers, he could still rig up a remote to use it as a backup Zord. As for Spike…well, his Spirit Animal wasn't a dragon, as hilarious as that may have been. It wasn't a pony either, but a majestic Eagle that watched over everything and everyone at once. It was a rather fitting choice for the often overlooked Dragon.

"These are your Zords. They will serve you in times of great need and, along the way, will reveal to you hidden secrets and formations that even I do not know about."

He paused to let that sink in. The Power worked in ways he didn't understand. He supposed he could ask Dimitria about it but there was something about the Inquiran that set him on edge. He didn't know what it was and, for the most part, didn't care. Anything was better than browsing the copy of Zordon's logs and data he had brought over; he doubted he would ever look at his old mentor the same way again. Looking behind him at the massive Zords he had created, he knew that Equestria was in safe hooves for now. However, he couldn't shake the strange feeling that always crept up on him; the feeling that hinted that a massive shift was coming down the line.

He hoped they were prepared for it.

TBC…


	33. Breakout

Equestria 101 – Breakout

It was a bitterly cold day.

Then again, every day in the Arctic wastes was always a bitterly cold day. The only times when it wasn't bitterly cold were at night. Those times, it was almost unbearably cold and the wind chill dropped temperatures down further. To say it was bad for his cooking was like saying his mind was still clear and unbroken. At least he was able to come up with several new and exciting recipes that would surely dazzle the culinary world like his éclairs dazzled the six ponies. Many of the ingredients quickly froze but others were kept in their liquid state thanks to magic by the Princess. Picking up a frozen blueberry, Gustave Le Grande carefully crushed it to a fine powder with his front right claw and sprinkled it on top of the shaved ice he had carefully sculpted into the shape of a Griffon. He looked down at the intricate detailing that had gone into the features and looked at his claws, as if surprised such delicate work could have come from him.

He looked up at the ice that surrounded him and slowly exhaled. He didn't know how he knew, but there was something deep inside him that was a remnant of the Griffon he once was before he received the news that sent his mind cracking into a million pieces…and before she had been cast out. His only daughter, Gilda, had been cast out of the family group by a vote from her brother. The decision had been split 50/50 and Gordon, bless his weak will, had been pressured into a choice that did not reflect his innermost desire. The small part of his true self that was locked away behind barriers and doors of its own making knew this as it had been the first event that had started the slow cracking of his mind. The pressure on Gordon had been so subtle that his son continued to believe that it had been his decision alone that had sent his sister away from him…and he would be damned if anyone leaked the truth.

Picking up the delicate sculpture, he walked over to a hollow in the wall that had been enchanted by the magic of the Purple Ranger. There, in the icy recess, sat a magically fuelled stove and oven that would never go out. On one of the burners sat a shallow based frying pan made of copper. Feeling the heat rising from the base gave his skin some respite from the mind-numbing cold and he wished the others would join him. However, he knew they wouldn't as they longed for the days when he was still of a sound mind. He had been praised for his work and culinary creations of course, but not from those closest to him. The only praise he had gotten from his own flesh and blood had been a brief look of joy from his daughter when she had sampled a warm blueberry, strawberry and vanilla drink. In fact, it had come and gone so quickly, he thought he had been fooled by a trick of the light.

Holding the ice above the heated pan, he dropped it in and watched as it melted into water and then boiled away into nothingness – leaving the crushed blueberry behind. Picking up a nearby can of sugar, he carefully spooned some into the pan and stirred it gently. As the sugar began to melt and caramelise, he swore he could hear something in the Main Hall; something like one-sided fighting. Shaking his head as the sugar melted into toffee, he shut off the heat and pulled out a cube of ice from the wall. Yes, a cube made of toffee would go well with his latest creation and, if everything went to plan, he would show it to the Pink Ranger at the next competition. Carefully picking up some of the liquid toffee with a clean spoon – making sure no water from the melting ice dripped in – he spun it around the ice and heard the faint crinkles it made as it solidified. This act also allowed the Griffon he had once been to peek out behind the doors and take control of his mind once more.

The sound of battle was coming closer now and Gustave knew that there was great evil behind the doors. It was somewhat similar to his own situation and he chuckled with mirthless irony. He was always fighting to not let his insanity consume him and begin cooking desserts with his family members, but it was a battle that was constantly at a stalemate. Spooning another glob of toffee onto the ice cube, he thought back to the time he had seen his daughter as himself…and the words that had been spoken between them.

Flashback

"_Gilda, my daughter, I am pleased to see you are still alive."_

_The encased Griffon looked up at the approaching figure with barely disguised contempt in her eyes. He struggled hard to suppress the flamboyant chef deep within his mind so he could seriously talk to his daughter. Gordon was out hunting the wastes for whatever meat could be found and the others would be unconscious until the sleeping draught he had slipped into their desserts had been purged from their system. Walking forward until he was eye to eye with her, he waited for her to look at him and recognise the difference. He had no doubt she would be able to instantly tell and was pleased when her voice changed from an arrogant sneer to a tone of shock and disbelief._

"_What do you want now, chef? I –"_

_Gilda shook her head, as if to clear the clouds from her vision. Gustave Le Grond, or whatever the hell her father was calling himself these days looked different. In fact, she could almost swear that he looked and was acting the same as before his mind had broken. She inhaled sharply and dropped her voice to a shocked whisper._

"_Father? Is it really…but you've seen me before…this time is different."_

_He smiled broadly and pushed down on the pressure he could feel in the back of his mind. He needed to do this, even if he never had a chance to resurface, and his daughter needed to know the truth. Well, not the entire truth of course, just the parts that mattered and that would paint him as a tragic and sympathetic character._

"_Yes, I have regained myself for a brief moment. I…I want to apologise to you for seeing me in such an unstable state. I am afraid I haven't been the father you wanted in your life."_

_She said nothing and he used the silence to continue._

"_The news was too much for my mind. You were alive but you were willingly serving Evil. You were blinded but then showed up with a new body. So many conflicting reports…and my mind broke. Forgive me, dear daughter, as my mind was not – is not – as strong as yours. I am coping with thing in my own way and I do not question the deeds and actions of my other half, although I sometimes question his taste."_

_They shared a chuckle over his lame attempt at humour before her gaze became darker and turned inward. He held his breath and waited for his headstrong daughter to speak her mind, as she would no doubt do._

"_Father, you are forgiven and I…I have to ask for your forgiveness as well. I don't know what future my current path will take me down but I…I…"_

_He held up a claw as he felt the tendrils of madness creep into his mind once more. Rising to his full height, he stroked the feathers on his daughter's head and tapped her forehead with his own. His eyes, straining to hold back the insanity, looked into hers and could clearly see the self-doubt and loneliness that had been masked and blocked with extremely evil power. He had a strange feeling he was speaking to the core of his daughter that hadn't been touched by the corruption flowing through her…but he couldn't say for sure._

"_Do not ask for what is given unquestioningly. You are my only daughter, you are alive and that is the only thing that matters."_

_End Flashback_

And that was it. Gustave Le Grande had taken control moments after he had exited and immediately begun cooking up an antidote of sorts to the sleeping draught. Gordon had arrived later and had brushed off the sleeping epidemic as something bad that had been cooked up by him. The sounds coming from the hall had tapered off into slow scratching and he looked up from his task, toffee still dripping from the spoon to crystallise in the cold air. He heard the door behind him creak open and he fought against the urge to turn around.

"Interesting…you are Gustave Le Grande, are you not?"

A luxuriously rich voice tickled his ears and he, against his will and mind, turned around to face the intruder. Whoever it was, it was a bipedal pony clad in some sort of strange armour. The front hooves had turned into grasping five-fingered hands and it was gripping a short blade covered in fresh blood. Gustave knew he should be running for the door, but stood firm. If the creature wanted to get to Gilda, he would fight the beast to the death. Dipping his spoon into the hot liquid once more, he settled into a stance that felt both familiar and unfamiliar and dropped his voice into an animalistic snarl.

"You seek entrance? I am afraid you will have to go through me."

The biped nodded solemnly and prepared himself. Gustave sent up a silent prayer to whatever culinary gods were listening in before lunging at the creature, spoon of hot toffee in hand. He had no idea how he would fare against a single creature that had pretty much slain his entire family group…but he had to try to keep the darkness from his family at all costs.

Even if it cost him his life.

TBC…


	34. First Meetings - Luna

Equestria 101 – First Meetings: Luna

King Sombra sat in stunned silence.

His daughters had just finished telling him about the attacks that Equestria had suffered through during his absence. He thought the Great Wars were bad but at least then you knew where your enemy was and how he or she would be attacking. For his daughters to have faced down creatures that terrifying with only a small group of ponies and a 'human' as protection was…well; it wasn't insane but it wasn't a great plan either. Celestia had talked, at great length, about the rise and banishment of Nightmare Moon and had expressed some degree of surprise that he had known about the corruption before it took root in her sister's heart. She had rounded on him, demanding answers from her father on why he had chosen to stay silent about the matter…but had been quietened by his words.

"What would you have had me do? If I had told you then and there, you would have wasted time trying to stop what was an inevitable outcome. Trust me, dear daughter; it was for the best that you weren't told."

Sombra held his head in his hooves as he looked at the screens around him. They showed the Rangers in various battles, during their downtimes and even in training. A few of the screens held nothing but scrolling walls of text as they tried to bypass some sort of security lock on a few recordings, but he didn't care for those as he felt he was prying into their privacy already. Tapping one of the 'screens', the images changed to still and moving images of the Zords racing into battle. The level of skill used to create such advanced machines was way above his meagre level as a ruling Unicorn, but he couldn't help but be astounded by how well the technology from the Zords had helped those in Equestria. Shaking his head once more, he turned to his daughters and opened his mouth: only one question burning into his mind.

"This technology is wondrous. It is slightly more advanced that what I am used to seeing. Yet I do wonder how you met this 'Billy' character and how he reacted to you being different than him."

Luna shifted in her seat and sighed at her sister's look. Technically, Celestia had met with Dimitria first and had laid the groundwork for the Ranger Project, yet that wasn't what her father was asking. She cast her memory back to before she had seen what Zedd was capable of, before she had felt the anguish at seeing ponies die before her eyes and before she had seen her sister in the most terrible pains anypony could be put through. Once she felt she was at the right spot, the Princess of the Night began speaking,

"I was the first one to meet Billy. I had been working with his…mentor, for lack of a better word, and it was getting to the point where I needed to see exactly who I would be working with. I had the benefit of seeing Dimitria and knew what a human would look like. Billy…not so much."

Flashback

_Princess Luna walked down one of the halls towards what she knew was one of the main 'Zord Bays'…whatever a Zord was. Dimitria had gone ahead to prepare the human for his first meeting with an Alicorn but she didn't know what to expect. The technology around her was extremely advanced, yet could be operated by hooves if need be. Stopping in her walk, she lifted her front right leg and reached out for one of the buttons. Her hoof hovered over the square red block for what seemed to be an eternity before she shook her head once. As this was her first time in the base under the Lonely Mountain, she was a guest. And, despite whatever her sister had told her, guests did not touch the décor…no matter how strange it was. Shaking her head in wonderment at both everything she had missed from her thousand-year banishment and all that had happened in the weeks since, she reached the massive metal door and stopped at the entrance as she heard voices from within. One was the serene, almost relaxed, voice of Dimitria and the other was a slightly rougher voice that held a note of repressed tiredness._

"_Dimitria…I can't meet one of them. I don't have time."_

"_Billy, you had to meet one of the rulers some time. It was they who gave you your workspace both here and in the Capital. I have been doing all I can to adapt the Great Hall to our needs but you need to align the final connections."_

"_Yeah, I know…but the Zords need the internal structures built before the outer shells are ready, the generator is acting up again and I still need the Element of Loyalty to do a Power Resonance check."_

_She could hear Dimitria sigh in frustration and instinctively thought of Celestia when she was disappointed or angry. She had not seen her sister's wrath in a very long while but she half-remembered it from Nightmare Moon's possession. Lightly stepping into the room, her eyes drifted up to a strange framework of scaffolding, ladders and metal bars that seemed to be holding up what looked to be a wire-frame replica of a pony. However, it was unlike any pony she had ever seen. The voices still continued, although Luna was sure they could see her by now._

"_You can do all of that later. We still have around eleven months or so until Zedd breaks through the barrier and then he will need a few weeks after merging to understand his new form. I thought Edward briefed you about what he could do?"_

_A sigh and the muted clink of something metallic being put down._

"_I know…it's just…"_

_A brief silence, followed by a long and slow exhale._

"_I didn't want to involve any of them. If the rulers see what I'm doing, what I'm going to do to the Bearers, they may grind everything to a halt. I can fight on my own but with my Morpher in the state that it is…"_

_Luna turned the corner and saw the human for the first time. He – and she was sure that the speaker was male – was slumped over a desk while Dimitria hovered over him. She lifted her head and looked at the Princess of the Night, smiling softly and nodding her head once. Dimitria knew there were things that she knew, things that she had known since before Nightmare Moon had corrupted her and things that the human sorely needed to know about the way magic and the Elements of Harmony ran through the world. And, in turn, Billy could teach her what it meant to be a true hero to the people. Slowly walking towards the bench, she cleared her throat lightly – causing the one called 'Billy' to look at her._

_He looked different than Dimitria. Clad in a strange light blue vest with long sleeves and a similarly-coloured covering for his legs, he held an air of muted authority around him. In fact, if she really wanted to compare, it was almost as if her father had returned in a different form. He stood up and she stifled a gasp as he was almost as tall as her. She shuffled her hooves nervously and flicked her tail back and forth, somewhat wishing the post-purification 'bleaching' of her mane and tail had worn off. To be the first to meet a new species of beings and not having the hair to signify she was a member of the ruling 'class' was…she let out a brief whinny of despair before he walked around her, studying her. She felt her face and ears grow hot under his gaze._

_Finally, he walked up to her and looked her in the eyes. His smile was wide and held no trace of any hidden malice or agenda that he might have had. He glanced towards Dimitria and nodded once, apparently satisfied with what he had seen. Her only hope was that he hadn't looked too closely at her hindquarters. Fate of Equestria or not, she would not have some newcomer clopping away to her in the privacy of his room. She opened her mouth to tell him off, that he should not have been studying her Royal self so…intimately, but stopped as he turned his gaze onto her. There was intelligence and mirth in his eyes, but that was true with all living beings. The only other thing she could see in them was a strange darkness that was somewhat muted, something that was eating him up inside…something that he would most likely never tell anypony about._

"_Well, I guess now is a good time as any for introductions. My name is Billy Cranston, from Earth."_

_End Flashback_

Luna smiled at the memory and waited for her sister and father to stop laughing. She had left out no details in her retelling but, now, she was starting to see that a few…choice moments would have been better left unsaid. She wondered how long the teasing would go on for this time. Suddenly, she was glad that Billy had declined to join them in their reminiscence; citing a need to work on the Zords before the batter became too hard, crumbly or…mouldy. She wondered why he had enlisted Pinkie's help but decided it was better that she didn't know. Besides, she knew the Pink Ranger could eat almost anything that wasn't crawling with maggots or that had the greenish fuzz of mould dotting it. Her sister finally stopped laughing and wiped her eyes of the tears of mirth that had sprung from them.

"I doubt you are that attractive to Billy, dear sister."

Luna grimaced and nodded. Opening her mouth to speak, she was silenced by a look of strange understanding from her father. Sombra allowed his own chuckles to die down before addressing her once more.

"At least you know now that he doesn't have a fetish for dark Alicorns, otherwise you would be screwed!"

She felt her face grow hot once more as they began laughing once again.

TBC…


	35. First Meetings - Celestia

Equestria 101 – First Meetings: Celestia

She shook her head free of the bucket.

It seemed that her sister hadn't taken lightly to her light teasing, or the laughter that had come from her father and her from his comment. Taking off her crown, Celestia violently shook her head in an attempt to expel as much water from her mane as possible. She doubted her father had expected Luna to leave so suddenly or return soon after, magically carrying two full buckets filled to the brim with ice-cold water. The issue of the water on the floor was no issue as the magic that protected the interior from damages would have it placed in the Gardens soon enough. She only wished they had managed to create the spell before Blackened Heart had unleashed her fury on the Command Tower, but that was neither here not there. Looking at her father, she smirked as he shook the last few drops from his horn and fixed Luna with a slightly embarrassed look.

"Ah, my dear Luna, I had forgotten about your temper. Worry not, as any questions about your meeting will be asked later."

Luna nodded and levitated the buckets to her side. It was better to keep them close by in case she had to use them once more. Looking at Celestia, she felt a mischievous smile creep over her muzzle as the events that had led up to her sister meeting Billy flashed through her mind. Of course, she had tried to get them into the same room when the human was fixing the wiring in the Command Tower, but her sister had been overwhelmed by the Royal Court. It seemed she needed to quash the rumours that were beginning to fly around concerning late-night sightings of Luna flying over Ponyville. The excuse of the Princess of the Night doing her nightly duties didn't really hold up as she had been sighted outside their dreams. Since their schedules never seemed to synch up perfectly, Luna had worked hard to get them to meet face-to-face. And since Billy was looking for the Element of Loyalty to begin the Power Merge, she knew exactly the best way to accomplish that.

Flashback

_Celestia stared at the necklace in front of her in shock. The Element of Loyalty had finally been recovered from the residence of the one named Rainbow Dash by the stealthiest of the Wonderbolts. Of course, the Pegasus in question hadn't been around to see it being taken as she had been preoccupied with something about getting a trick 'just right'. How in Equestria that involved being launched up into the air on a catapult was beyond her understanding. She doubted she would notice it was missing anyway, as they hadn't really had a major crisis that needed the overwhelming power of the Elements since Luna was freed._

"_Are you sure you have to sit in the Night Court tonight? I could take over as I did before and…"_

_Luna shook her head. Her sister had been sitting in the Night Court for the past few weeks and presiding over one particular case, yet she had been struggling to keep herself awake for most of the proceedings. It was time for the Princess of the Night to step in and deal with those who would threaten boredom on her little ponies. Knowing her, it would all be over in a few hours as she would rule for the defendant. She had a strange feeling that they would need the supply lines to the Crystal Empire open in case Zedd decided to strike there. Plus, if anypony became snippy with her, she could call upon copious amounts of thunder and lightning to shut them up. She grimaced as she realised she would have to schedule a magic-cleaning of the Court in case some of the ponies in attendance became too scared._

"_This case needs to be settled by me otherwise it will be still ongoing in several thousand years. The laws and rules I will have to put into place will help in the future when he has everything up and running. Trust me, big sister."_

_Her sister spread her wings and nodded once. Encasing a second layer of magic around the Element of Harmony, she leapt into the skies to fly towards the Command Outpost._

_End Flashback_

Of course, the only reason she knew Billy had met her sister had been when he had asked for the little geography lesson in between working on the Crystals. He had mentioned something about wanting to know the terrain, based on a little comment Celestia had made. She hadn't pried for details, but if they were sharing stories with their father…

"Celestia, you should tell father how you met Billy."

Her sister shot her a grim look and she pushed down the laughter threatening to bubble up from her stomach. A small part of her would always feel a touch guilty that, while she had explained that Billy was different than Dimitria, she hadn't really stressed how different they were. On the other hand, she supposed it was the natural presence of her sister that kept things from spiralling out of control. Before her sister could find some way to weasel out of her tale, she had laid out her side of the tale and looked to Celestia to continue where she had left off. The Princess of the Day rolled her eyes, realising there was no way she could slip out now, and opened her mouth.

"The flight was long for me. I hadn't been out that way in a while and Luna's directions didn't really help that much. Before long, though, I made it into the Command Outpost and began looking for Billy. Of course, she hadn't really told me what he looked like and I…may have over-reacted a bit."

Flashback

_Princess Celestia walked through the metallic halls of the Outpost, wondering where this 'Billy' was that Luna had mentioned. Her sister had informed her that Billy was different than Dimitria, but had the same body shape and structure. Another difference was that Billy was a male but she really didn't want to know how her sister knew that. Not that she thought anything bad had happened, just the overprotective flare-ups of an older sister that was concerned with her sister returning to society after being gone for a thousand years. Actually, if she was entirely honest with herself, it was a good thing that Luna had been banished as her sister would have easily fallen under the sway of Discord and the War would have turned out a lot different. Shaking her head, she willed those thought out of her mind. Luna was strong and, even under the spell of Nightmare Moon, would have been more than a match for him._

"_Luna? Is that you?"_

_The unfamiliar voice caught her off guard and she whirled around, her horn flashing with dangerous magic. In front of her was a bipedal ape, similar to Dimitria, yet this one pulsed with a power that sent her senses reeling. It had mentioned her sister by name, but that didn't matter much to her. Gripping the Element of Loyalty close to her body, she reared up on her hind legs and spread her wings wide, hoping that the creature would leave her to her searching in peace. To the biped's credit, it didn't move and she could feel its eyes roving on her body. There was something in its hands and she squinted in the dim light to see what it was._

_The Element of Magic glinted back at her._

_She didn't think as she fired off a paralysing bolt at the biped. There was no way that she would allow this biped to ransack the last bastion of defence Equestria had against Zedd. She would have to report this to Dimitria right away, only if she could drive the creature back into the pits of Deinos Terra Firma where it had obviously come. Falling back on all fours, she looked around her for any trace of its location. There was an open door in front of her and she lowered her head dangerously before charging. Everything hinged on her defeat of the biped and protecting the secrets hidden here. Bursting into the room, she took a moment to catch her breath before looking around her to see if it was hidden anywhere…and she felt her mouth drop open in wonder._

_Six giant metal ponies stared down at her._

_With the benefit of hindsight, she knew that she was exposed and in the open. The biped was still out there and could have easily swung down from its hiding place to kill her…or incapacitate her. And yet, all she could do was stare in wonder at the mechanical giants and wonder who, or what, could have had the time and mastery to create such weapons. Was this what Luna and Dimitria were saying all along, to trust the fate of the world to six mechanical ponies? Or was this the work of the biped and his twisted machinations? Did she have another usurper, another Discord, on her hooves? So engrossing was the sight of the metal ponies, that she only became aware of its presence when she heard a voice behind her._

"_Apologies that I startled you, though I was expecting your sister."_

_Celestia turned her head around slowly to see the biped behind her. There was no weapon in its hands or any threat in its eyes…yet, they kept darting to her horn for some reason. Slowly rising to her feet, she willed the magic out of her horn and turned to face the biped. She mumbled a curse under her breath and reddened as the biped mulled over the words._

"_Deinos Terra Firma? Terrible solid earth…well, I don't mean to shatter any illusions but the place I'm from may be worse than that. Let me introduce myself, I am a human and my name is Billy."_

_End Flashback_

Celestia hung her head in mock shame as both Luna and her father laughed, casting her mind back to the aftermath of her first meeting. After she had introduced herself to Billy, she had been taken on a tour of the Command Outpost, questioning small details such as the healing capsules placed in various rooms and the emergency back-up generators that required a convoluted start-up sequence. At the end of the tour, she and Billy had been discussing several steps to place backup generators on the key systems when Luna had come in. The case had been settled rather swiftly after the first dozen lightning strikes and she needed to 'relieve' Celestia. The human had asked about the geography of Equestria…which had sparked the long and arduous task of educating him. She had fallen asleep sometime during the second or third time and had to be nudged awake in time to raise the sun.

Shaking her head once more, she looked up to see that her father and sister _still_ hadn't stopped laughing. She rolled her eyes once more and wondered what she could do to shut them both up.

And then she saw the buckets.

TBC…


	36. Prophetic

Equestria 101 – Prophetic

"Discord is your brother?"

At the nods of the twin Alicorn sisters, the Orange Ranger ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. Weihan thought the madness of the day had ended with Bree telling him that she was 'destined' to be part of a Ranger-like team called the Sentinel Rangers or whatever they were called. He had briefly wondered how many Power Sets around him had prophecies linked to them but decided not the dwell on it. After all, he hadn't learnt about the Prophecy of Ultra until it had been basically spelled out to him by Zordon. As the communication after-image had winked out, an all black unicorn had walked out of one of the side passages, had seen the new faces in the room and had begun charging up his horn. Seeing this display of power, he had prepared a blue-hot fireball and had been about to fling it at the strange unicorn when Princess Celestia had leapt in the middle of them and forced them to stop. The past fifteen or so minutes had been spent explaining to him the various new twists and turns that had popped up since his last visit. He was still trying to wrap his head around the strange family tree that Celestia and Luna were a part of.

"And you're their father?"

The black unicorn nodded once and he felt his mind shut down once more. Shaking his head to clear it, Weihan sighed and placed his head in his hands. The ex-King Sombra set him off slightly as there was a faint aura around him that didn't have anything to do with the inherent magic the unicorns possessed. He had felt Twilight and Rarity weave their spells around him far too often to know what their magic felt like. If he didn't know any better, he would have said it was like the power Ninjor and Dulcea always held around them…the aura of their Ninja and Ninjetti Spirits. How a unicorn could have gotten in touch with such powerful energies away from the Rangers was beyond him. Just one more question to deepen the ever-growing mystery that was King Sombra. As if sensing his thoughts, the black unicorn nodded once more and spoke in the deep tone that reminded him of James Earl Jones.

"I assure you that I am their father. I have been…elsewhere for the past few thousand years and I trusted my daughters to rule in my stead."

As she could see he looked a bit sceptical at the claims made, Twilight trotted up next to the shocked Ranger and lightly nudged his side with her horn. She frowned slightly at the strange image that flashed in her mind for a split second of flesh slapping together and shook her head to clear her mind. Thankfully, the Orange Ranger hadn't noticed or didn't mention anything. It was odd to her how the images seemed to flash up within the proximity of the Orange Ranger…almost as if her subconscious mind was telling her that something had happened a while ago that she had forgotten. She didn't know what it could be as there hadn't been any time that she had lost in the past, well, not since the debacle with the spell that didn't take hold. Even though she had betrayed them in the end, she still trusted Dimitria's words about them not having done anything in the duration. Even their images on the security recordings had been concurrent with what Billy had said they were doing…though their movements seemed somewhat jerky. She opened her mouth to speak to the human, her tone holding an undercurrent of warmth to it.

"He destroyed a giant monster with one blast. That's something you haven't done yet."

Weihan rolled his eyes. Destroying a giant monster single-handedly was one of the first things he had done as a Ranger. Admittedly, nuking a giant monster was well within his limits but he hadn't felt it was necessary. After all, Xonix had stopped making monsters grow for quite a while before the big battle and the Ultra Psycho Rangers wouldn't go down with one blast anyway.

"Blast, no. Slash, yes."

Closing his eyes as the black furred unicorn gaped openly, he felt for the connection to his Battlizer and, by extension, the massive energy source that was tethered to it. Once the mighty armour was summoned again, the final checks and procedures would be done for him to summon what the Elder had called the 'Ultimate Weapon'. After he had seen it, he had agreed. Opening his eyes once more, he saw Sombra looking at him closely. Well, the unicorn wasn't looking at him but at the air around his body. It was akin to something Ninjor and Dulcea had taught Rachel and had her use him as a 'training aid' of sorts. The technique was an energy signature reading that dated back to Zordon's war with Rita. Where the ancient sage had learnt it from was lost to the annals of history, yet that didn't keep hundreds of history scholars all over the Universe from looking.

"Your energy signature is overwhelmingly powerful…"

He rolled his eyes and looked over to where the Crystal Rangers were watching him with interest. He really should have had them try to develop their magic or, at the very least, to create duplicates of themselves but after the slight debacle before with Liz and the lack of clothes on her double…well, he wasn't going to take any more chances. At the very least, Emma's incredulity regarding the equines around her had lessened somewhat and she was accepting being in another dimension. He was about to suggest Liz taking the Rangers to the Secondary Training Room to get some practice in when the former King's voice reached his ears. As it was in a very low and quiet tone, Weihan knew that it wasn't meant to be heard…but the words made him want to bash his head repeatedly on one of the marble pillars.

"Could it be you hold one of the Crystals of Prophecy?"

"Crystals of…great, another prophecy to deal with. What does this one say now?"

Sombra looked down slightly and ran his tongue over his teeth. He stamped his front hooves on the ground and flicked his tail back and forth as he tried to wrest the exact words of it from the far reaches of his memory. Unlike many of the great prophecies he had heard, there was little evidence to show that it would happen at all within the lives of all of the dimensions. There were too many variable in place that needed to align up perfectly; so much so that even the slightest deviation could end in the prophecy not coming true at all. For it to have come true at all within the lifetimes of the Elders was truly astounding as it was terrifying. As small parts of it came to him, the Unicorn opened his mouth to convey the words before snapping it shut. Although the Ranger in front of him had the hallmarks of being the one from the Prophecy, there was nothing that he could see that told him of his true character. He would have to play it safe to start.

"I am afraid I do not know the full words as it is very peculiar. It states vague happenings that will come about with the fall of the warriors six up until the world's end."

Weihan felt the colour drain from his face as the words sank in. As he could recite the Prophecy of Ultra word for word, the part the black unicorn had uttered about the 'fall of the warriors six' was something that would have sounded thematically apropos for the situation…had it not been for the words 'world's end'. Those words were from the odd, almost sing-song third verse. Of course, the second verse had revolved around his trip into the Dark Future and that memory was not something he wanted to relive in front of the ponies. He had agonised over the significance of the 'battle lost' in the third verse but he had come up empty…until his death. Barely stifling the violent shudder that threatened to ripple through his body, he forced himself to look anywhere except at Sombra. The Crystal Rangers were staring at him with mixtures of concern and curiousity while the ponies were looking at him in a rather confused way, except for Pinkie who was snoring in one of the farthest corners. Chuckling under his breath as the Pink Ranger rolled onto her back, he didn't notice Applejack coming up behind him again until she spoke.

"What's wrong, Sugarcube? Ya look like you've seen a ghost."

Snapping out of his bemusement, all thoughts turned back to business and he glared at the unicorn. As far as he was aware, no 'mortal' being was supposed to be aware of the existence of the second and third verses. The full Prophecy had been distributed only to the most trusted people with the express belief that they would not be shared within the Intergalactic community. To hear of some unicorn hearing the full prophecy in another dimension was…well, it was something all right. The Orange Ranger almost wished Zordon was still around so he could be grilled, but that was something that was still a bit painful to think about. Clearing his mind of any untoward thoughts regarding the level of knowledge the ex-King Sombra possessed, he inhaled deeply and softened his gaze as much as possible before speaking in a somewhat gentle, but firm, tone.

"Where did you hear that Prophecy?"

Sombra blinked at the tone in the young man's voice and felt a small shiver run over him. The Elders had always cautioned spreading the word of the Prophecy around to others as they had seen far too many attempts at beings try to manipulate the words for their own gain. More often than not, those attempts had ended poorly. The way this Ranger had moved against a foe that was only known to a handful of Equestria's Rangers was astounding to watch and he had, on more than one occasion, rubbed his eyes with his front hooves…as if cleaning them would somehow cause the strange sight to vanish completely. Yet, here he was in front of him, staring at him intently as if to wrest the true meaning behind his words from his inner core. There was still one question that needed to be asked of the man, one thing that would truly set his mind at ease and grant him the envy of the Elder.

"From my travelling companions. They seemed quite adamant that the only person that would know the meaning of the words was the Bearer. Do you know what it means?"

At his nod, Sombra's gut tightened. This was it…to finally have the answers that the Elder couldn't give in front of him was an intoxicating prospect. However, even with the benefit of hindsight, nothing could have prepared him for the words he was about to hear.

"I have heard it before but as the Prophecy of Ultra or the Prophecy of the Crystals. It states the rise of my team of Rangers, the Ultra Rangers, and glosses over the various allies that I have found, including your daughters and their Rangers."

The black unicorn fell back on the floor with a stunned expression on his face and the Orange Ranger internally rolled his eyes as his daughters raced to him. With all those questions about the Prophecy that had come his way, he would have thought Sombra to be better prepared when he was faced with the undeniable truth. Apparently, he had been wrong on that account. Running a hand through his hair, he opened his mouth to speak when the doors flew open and banged loudly on the walls. Everyone jumped, startled by the sudden noise…but to his amusement, Pinkie Pie didn't stir one bit. He felt fire rush to his palms for a brief second before a white unicorn with a three-toned blue mane galloped in. From her position by Celestia's side, Twilight's eyes lit up with delight at the sight of her brother, Shining Armour. The Captain of the Guard and current co-ruler of the Crystal Empire nodded at the Orange Ranger and his new Rangers once, despite never having seen them before, but blinked at the stunned black unicorn in the middle of the floor, with the Regal Alicorns flanking him.

"I came as soon as I saw the smoke. What happened…and who's this?"

As the purple unicorn approached her brother to fill him in, the Orange Ranger walked over to the Crystal Rangers and nodded once. Liz, Bec and Jorja stood up and nodded back, before preparing themselves for a new round of training. They had the basics down but Weihan wanted to test them against the ponies to see how well they could stand up to their power and endurance. It would have to wait until the others had the proper rest and recovery and when he was certain that no other attacks would be taking place. Ignoring the stunned shout from behind him, Weihan looked at his Rangers and spoke in a steely voice.

"Now we train."

TBC…


	37. Explaining the Grid

Equestria 101 – Explaining the Grid

"Why was he so adamant about saving the Grid?"

The former king Sombra looked at the closing portal with an expression of curiousity etched into his features. The elders had informed him that all Morphin Grids were practically pure energy and that no mortal being could safely traverse it without triggering one of many defences. Yet, the Midnight Blue Ranger had managed to open what appeared to be a stable portal and had _leapt_ into what was supposed to only be a plane of energy. It was extremely mind-bending and, honestly, made his brain hurt in ways he didn't want to think about. The remaining Rangers were milling around the room, looking at the various consoles and out the window. Once, the thought that danger could be spotted by looking outside was extremely foreign to him. Now, he was fighting internally to not fall into the same routine. Noticing the questioning glances from the others and his daughters, he opened his mouth to clarify.

"The Grid should be able to purge the intruder with no problems. The only outlets the Grid should have are to empower any Rangers that draw from it. I don't understand why he needs to leap in and save the day. He could be doing more harm than good."

Princess Luna shook her head as she monitored the readings coming from the Grid. She had had doubts about the whole operation and had debated hotly with Billy all those years ago against the possibility that such an event would happen. She really hoped he had forgotten about that as she didn't really want to do _that_ for an entire day. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she turned to her father and spoke softly.

"Father, the Grid that the Rangers use is much different than any other Grid. Whether by chance or an evolution of its original design, it has managed to tap into the Powers of several other Ranger teams and fully empower them for the duration of their stay."

Sombra flicked his tail impatiently. He knew that the Grid powered Rangers of all dimensions, irregardless of whatever power they were already drawing from their 'home' Grids. There was also a way the native Grid could be supercharged, though he had yet to see any concrete evidence for that fact having happened in Equestria. He doubted it would have happened – even with the immense power of the Ultra Rangers. Seeing his impatience, Luna shook her head and lightly nudged her father's side.

"I know this sounds like information you already know but it is much more than that. Due to the massive customisation the Elemental Morphin Grid has undergone, it has become so much more than just a simple Power Source. Let me see if I can put it into simple terms…"

She bit her lip and looked around the room, seeing if there was anypony who would readily object to being a part of her demonstration. To their credit, the other Rangers seemed nonplussed by the mental suggestion of their involvement and seemed to accept their 'roles' very readily. The Pink Ranger also pulled out a cannon from…somewhere and she had to think hard about what its 'designation' would be in her demonstration. Honestly, she had no idea if this would work, but it was the only way to pass the time. An additional plus was that she would be able to finally use the information on the Grid that Billy had told her about, implanting the small bits and pieces she had learnt from the other Rangers.

"All right father, let's say Celestia represents the Elemental Morphin Grid; an all powerful entity whose powers are only defined in the barest sense. Before the Rangers came into being, it was a network of natural energy and magics that bestowed its power onto all. With the Zeo Crystal augmenting the Elements of Harmony, the Grid powers the Equestrian Rangers but also takes on the 'slack' of powering other Rangers from the other dimensions. The best way I can explain the slack is that passing through the barriers is like placing pasta into a strainer…though that may bot be the best analogy. The majority of a Ranger's power passes with them in transit, but there is a very slight amount that drains off back into the Grid of their home dimension. Applejack, you experienced something when you crossed over?"

The Red Ranger frowned slightly at the word usage, before nodding once. She hadn't really thought about it the first time as she was trying to get used to being in another dimension with more Rangers than she could shake a stick at, but later visits had left her feeling…well, slightly weaker but at the same time, slightly stronger. Conveying that to the Princess, she wondered what exactly pasta straining had to do with the power that was lost. Oh well, maybe it was a Princess thing. Nodding at the words, Luna continued – even as a small spike momentarily appeared on the readout.

"The Grid has had to maintain and support the Powers of several Rangers of different Power Sources, which will be represented by Applejack. The first Ranger it had to deal with was Billy when he was using his original Power Coin. As it had been practically destroyed, it would not retain as much Power and, thus, had to be supplemented with a boost of magic from myself and Celestia. The second team is the Equestrian Rangers themselves. Even when one or more of them are in another dimension, the Grid continues to power them irregardless of whatever native Grid they are drawing from. In the case of the dimension of the Ultra Rangers, their Grid is much stronger than ours and causes the affected Rangers to simultaneously experience feelings of strength and weakness. It is a complicated issue and one I do not possess much knowledge in."

Sombra nodded once, taking in the information without a word. He guessed it hade some degree of sense to have the Grid continuing to power the Rangers even when they weren't in the dimension, but to have them powered by two Grids at once was…well; he wasn't sure what the term was but it was almost mind-meltingly inane. In theory, that would make them superhumanly strong as, no matter which of the Grids was weaker, the individual would be gaining the powers of _two_ fully-powered Grids at once. That wasn't even counting all the other Power Sources out there that drew powers separate from the 'main' Morphin Grid. Shifting his hooves as he tried to understand everything, he nodded once for his daughter to continue.

"The third individual to draw power from our Grid was Billy's friend Jason during his rather unexpected stay in Equestria. As he was drawing power from an intact Power Coin as well, his power and morphed state was much weaker than Billy's had been. In fact, Billy hypothesised that Jason's power didn't fully stabilise from the dimensional trip until the 'evolution' of his Powers. The fourth group to draw on the Power were the Ninjetti Rangers from Billy's dimension when they had been freed of their enspelling and brainwashing."

Luna snuck a look at Celestia, knowing her sister was still not over the loss of Shining Light. Even though she had graced their lives for a short period of time, the young Earth pony's sacrifice was still acutely felt by all. The only movement from her sister to show she had caught Luna staring at her was a very subtle nod of her head. Letting out a short sigh, Luna shook her head and forced herself to relax. Thinking about the internal thoughts of her sister always made her mind throb with agony and she had no desire to be put through that kind of mental confusion again. Honestly, just thinking about her and Twilight was strange enough…but Billy had stated they hadn't done anything under that spell. Ah, that was another thing for another time. Taking a moment to compose herself and calm her mind, she spoke once again.

"Powered by the Ninjetti Spirits, they drew on our Grid and experienced a slight increase in Power. Indeed, our scanners revealed that when all of the Rangers present in the final stand against Zedd morphed, the Grid was given an incredible jolt of power from every Grid involved. It stands to reason that the energy may still be leeching out into the Rangers even now."

"But…that…but that makes no sense! There are only a set of very specific circumstances for a Grid to be charged like that! Only the native Rangers would be given the power boost and there is no direct evidence to assume that the Grids would be linked and would be leeching power! This is all pure speculation and conjecture!"

Celestia shook her head as Luna sighed in resignation. While it was true that, on a normal basis, their Grid shouldn't still be feeling the effects of the supercharge; the Grid in Equestria was so far removed from anything anyone anywhere had on record that it could almost be considered as a unique entity amongst Grids. Indeed, it was more or less the case with only the Ultra Crystal's Grid slowly reaching the same strangeness levels as theirs. She wondered exactly who had told her father this information; while it was technically accurate and true, there were many inaccuracies that even she could pick out. As Luna opened her mouth once more to try and argue her point, she stretched out her front right leg – effectively stopping her. As the Princess of the Night looked at her quizzically, Celestia smiled slightly and took over.

"Father, I understand there have been many things you have been told and, from what I understand, on many dimensions, these are proven to be correct. However, you must understand that it is not just the Power Rangers that draw from the Grid. If I am to be the Grid then Pinkie Pie represents the chaotic world of evil. The Grid that they tap into is just the barest skims on the surface. At this point in time, we are still not sure as to what Grid links Night Shade has, whether he draws energy from the Ultra Grid as well or if he runs on his own system. Frankly, as far as he is concerned, he is a giant grey area."

The Pink Ranger seemed to be momentarily put out at the thought that she represented evil but slowly nodded after a moment of thought. Fun chaos was still good but sometimes walked the thin line between good and evil. Well, chaos wouldn't walk or ooze as that was just a concept based on the highly theoretical principles of Order and Chaos, but if Discord was supposed to be the God of Chaos then it would stand to reason that there was a God of Order. Tapping her hoof to her chin, she wondered if Princess Celestia was the God of Order…or if it was someone they hadn't met yet. Ooh, maybe they would have to go on some kind of quest to free him or her from the grasp of evil! Blinking the thoughts out of her mind, for now, she listened to the Princess of the Day and wondered if she would be able to convey the information better.

"Also, the fact that must be taken into account is that the Power is in everything. Thr trees have it, the water and earth…and the inhabitants of this world. When certain ponies die, their energies are theoretically allowed into the Grid, meaning they will be still with us long after they pass from the world. Incidentally, there is no way for the forces of evil to use this energy as it is transmitted to the more neutral areas of the Grid. There is no telling how much power this 'reserve' contains or the information that it is…privy…to…"

Celestia's words trailed off as a sickening feeling of dread washed over her. Swallowing hard, she looked around the room to see if anyone else had had the horrifying realization. All of them looked the same; with the exception of Spike. The baby dragon was looking at the spot where Twilight had vanished into with wide eyes and the spines on his back were starting to shake slightly. As if he knew he was being watched, he turned his head back to look at her with wide eyes; eyes that understood what the overall plan was and desperately wanted it to be otherwise. Closing her eyes, she hoped that the spirits of those residing in the Grid would help her friends overcome whatever was in their path.

"Sister, are you all right?"

The voice shook her out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes, looking into the concerned face of Luna. Celestia smiled shakily and nodded slightly. Billy, Twilight and Rarity were strong Rangers with a wealth of power and experience between them. Surely, they would be able to deter the monster from accessing the information as the alternative…

Well, it was unthinkable.

TBC…


	38. Mirror World

AN: Explanations of the Rangers of Equestria version of Sunset Shimmer. And everyone knows how Equestria Girls turned out anyway so there's no need to rehash those events.

Equestria 101 – Mirror World

"Who's Sunset Shimmer?"

Princess Celestia's eyes unfocused for a moment as she cast her mind back to the time before Shining Light had encompassed every single waking moment of her life and she had a bright and talented unicorn student. She had only just defeated the first uprising of Discord and was rather confused as to what she should have been feeling as the banishment of Luna had still weighed heavy on her mind. It had only been the arrival of Sunset Shimmer that she was able to make sense of the craziness around her. Of course, her student had picked up on her budding infatuation with Shining Light and had teased her mercilessly.

Flashback

"_Teacher, you do know that a relationship between two mares is somewhat frowned upon, much less the Ruler of Canterlot and a simple page! I wonder when I'll find the two of you in the hay together,"_

_Princess Celestia rolled her eyes and looked at her young student, sticking her tongue out in retaliation. Shining Light was a marvellous aide but that was as far as she would allow their relationship to go. After all, Sunset Shimmer was her student and they had a close bond, one that was skirting on the knife edge of gross indecency itself. She had to admit though, there was something about the way the pale amber unicorn tossed her mane around that drew all the stallions to her…or maybe it was how she always had that certain look in her eye that promised both heaven and hell. However, Sunset Shimmer had one glaring flaw she was trying to fix desperately: she had no understanding on the bonds of friendship. She simultaneously cursed and mourned the fact after every lesson as she could see her student had a deep well of potential that would only reveal itself after she had made a friend. Unfortunately, it seemed that all Sunset wanted to do in life was sow chaos with ponies and their feelings._

"_Sunset, you know perfectly well I don't have time for any relationships; not when I have you as my student. Although, I have noticed our student-teacher relationship becoming closer than I have ever allowed. Perhaps it is time I changed that and allowed you to enter my chambers on a nightly basis as well…"_

_Sunset Shimmer's face grew red as her words sunk in and Celestia had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Her student had been mercilessly teasing her for the past few weeks but was easily teased herself and, unless her senses were misleading her again, was becoming excited about any future prospect. As Sunset attempted to stammer out a reply, Celestia's mind turned towards the strange dream that had come to her the previous night. The images she had seen were utterly fantastical and she had cried out in joy at seeing Luna freed from the armour of hate and bitterness that had swallowed her but she knew that they were flights of fancy. Hairless apes walking upright were myths and the thought of super powered warriors was a much needed fantasy. At least Discord had retreated for now but there would be no telling when he would return._

_End Flashback_

"Sunset Shimmer was my second greatest student. She excelled in all areas concerning magic and she was on the fast track to becoming one of the best minds of all time. I met her soon after the first defeat of Discord, before Shining Light integrated herself into my life. The only issue that arose between us was due to her inability to understand the nature, and magic, of friendship. We grew apart from each other over the decades and, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose her insatiable thirst for knowledge was what drove her to Discord's second coming. I suppose I should be grateful that, even with all the brainwashing he put her through, she could still come to me and talk about her decision."

Flashback

_Princess Celestia looked at the unicorn opposite her and suppressed a sigh of frustration. Sunset Shimmer had not been seen in Canterlot for the past few years but she had suddenly turned up unannounced and asked to have a private discussion with her. They were, ironically enough, seated in the private chambers of the Princess; an amusing fact that was not lost on the young unicorn. Although they had eventually crossed the invisible line of forbidden lust, Sunset had quickly realised that being with another mare was not what she truly desired. She supposed that was when they had begun to grow apart as there was only so much she could be taught without understanding the true value of friendship._

"_And you are certain this is the correct path for you?"_

_Sunset nodded once, her eyes turning down. Discord had shown her many amazing things and Night Shade had fed her hunger for knowledge by teaching her spells to turn heads and enspell minds. He had been in the middle of teaching her a spell to harness her innate powers and transform her mind when she was overcome by a wave of guilt and despair. The black coated unicorn had nodded sagely and had informed Discord with her concerns. Amazingly, the humanoid Alicorn hadn't destroyed her on the spot for daring to have second thoughts; instead, allowing her to have one final conversation with her former teacher to put her doubts to rest. She didn't know what she was doing here anyway; Princess Celestia had finally hooked up with Shining Light, even though she was supposed to be one the Eyes of Discord…or whatever they were calling themselves these days._

_Well, that was what she wanted the gullible Princess to believe anyway. In truth, she was here to seek out one of the most powerful artefacts in the Tower: The Mirror of Traverse. What it could do, no one knew but she was damned if she was going to allow its great power to be leeched away by Discord and Night Shade. On one hoof, she would be betraying not only those two but the entirety of Equestria and she would never be allowed to set hoof within the main landmass again. Night Shade had forseen the eventual defeat of Lord Discord and had entrusted her with a mission of utmost importance. Her normal lifespan had been greatly increased by some unknown means and she would continue to live until she was encroaching on the age of ten thousand but that did not matter much to her._

"_I am more or less sure of this. Princess, I know this isn't the path you wished me to take and, on some internal level, I understand and apologise. I…I am afraid you will harbour some degree of responsibility on yourself and your actions but, please teacher, don't. I have never ever regretted the years I spent as your student."_

_Sunset closed her eyes, as if in reflection, but was plotting the next few moments very carefully. Everything needed to be just perfect in order for her ruse to work. Genuinely, she understood the actions of her teacher in the past and knew that what she was doing was gaining the things she wanted the wrong way…but she didn't really care as long as the power was in her hooves._

"_Could I, just for old times sake, walk around the Tower? I'll be in direct sight of the guards at all times so they'll know if I wander into places I shouldn't be."_

_End Flashback_

"And you just let her go?"

Princess Celestia shook her head as the Pegasus chariot landed at the Crystal Palace. All seven Rangers and Spike stepped out of the cart and looked around them in awe as the alicorn wondered what her next words were going to be. She had hardly thought anything untoward would happen in the time Sunset Shimmer had asked to look around one last time but, it had seemed, her fears had come true no less than a few minutes later. The Mirror Portal had been accessed by her former student and would not reopen for countless decades and would only resume two-way travel if Sunset returned. As she had, for a very brief time, the Mirror Portal would allow Twilight and one other to safely journey into the world where Sunset Shimmer had made her home for the last few thousand years. Shaking her head, she noticed that the Mirror Portal had been cordoned off from its normal position at the front of the Public Vaults. It was time to act now or else it would be too late for the other world.

"I had no reason to suspect otherwise but this is not the time for such discussions. Twilight Sparkle, as leader of the Power Rangers and the holder of the Element of Magic, I, Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, charge you with the task of stopping whatever scheme Sunset Shimmer has started. You must pick one other to accompany you as I do now know what dangers await but it cannot be one of your friends as I do not know if the portal can sustain the safe transit of two Rangers."

Twilight nodded once and looked at her faithful assistant. The baby dragon had seen and done so much for them in the past few years but now would be his time to help her in a different way. Levitating the baby dragon onto her back, she separated from the group and strode towards the portal. Allowing herself one quick look back at her friends, who were smiling and waving, she swallowed hard and stepped through the shimmering silver surface. Images rushed out at her and spectres swooped down from impossible angles during the transit, Spike clinging to her back the entire time. She could see flashes of things, of times long gone and futures that would never materialise. She saw herself as an Alicorn facing down a monstrous centaur with upwardly curving horns, each firing off multi-coloured energy blasts. Another group of figures ran down an alley, being chased by creatures that defied all known description, exploding in bursts of light green slime that dissolved anything it touched. When she finally tumbled out into the sunlight, she was a mess. Lifting her arms to her head, she desperately tried to smooth down her hair that had become all tufty in the…portal…wait; she wasn't supposed to have hair.

Swallowing hard again, she looked back to the portal but her vision was cut off as a newspaper smacked into her face. Grumbling under her breath as Spike gawked over his new body, she read the title and frowned in confusion, never knowing her next words would come back to her in the future.

"What's a Kamen Rider?"

TBC…


	39. Rainbow Dimensions

AN: A bit of an early Xmas present – an Equestria 101 chapter for a future event that hasn't happened yet. The chapters are blocked out and ready to be written though, both in Rangers of Equestria and Kamen Rider Tyrant

Equestria 101 – Rainbow Dimensions

"So, you couldn't use the Dimensional Doorway...why?"

Billy looked over at the device Twilight had cobbled together with a raised eyebrow. It certainly looked impressive enough but, for the life of him, he couldn't understand why the Purple Ranger needed to jump through the hoops she had. It had only been a few months since she had first gone through the portal but it seemed whatever magic the mirror had once possessed had been shorted out...or something like that. He supposed magical mirrors weren't really supposed to be conduits for Morphin Grid energy but that raised the question of how, exactly, Sunset Shimmer had been able to get the message through the portal. The Sirens seemed like strong opponents but he was sure that Twilight would be able to devise some sort of method to counter their powers. He was also still struggling to comprehend exactly why, even though the only time she grew wings was with the use of the Battlizer, why Twilight had suddenly sprouted Alicorn wings during her final 'climax'.

"It's a matter of uncertainty. The first thing I did when I arrived last time was to check the communication channels. I was able to get a few hits but there were no responses; which means that there aren't any Rangers in that world. Heck, I'm not even sure my Morpher would work over there and what effect it would have on the Sirens. There's also something else that I need to investigate, something outside Canterlot."

Billy shook his head as the Unicorn levitated the journal used as a means of communication from Sunset Shimmer to Princess Celestia. She had refrained from writing a reply as she didn't know what to write and didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case the portal didn't work. It would be a challenge learning how to work her fingers again but, thanks to her practice in her Battlized state, it would be much easier the second time around. She just hoped her friends didn't expect her to play an instrument or something but she supposed she could cross that bridge if it popped up. The others were watching her construct the portal and were milling about as they waited for it to be completed...or for Zedd to send down another Destruction Beast.

"What other mysteries could there be in that world? Isn't it a world where magic wasn't seen until you arrived?"

Twilight shook her head, glancing at Spike as she recalled what other things she had seen in her first foray. While the internet in the school library had been extremely limited in what she could access, she was aware that Canterlot was seen as an anomaly by the rest of the world. She hadn't thought much of it at the time but it seemed that the town had a strangely disproportionate amount of people with 'pigmentation disorders', whatever those were, and styles of hair that went out years ago. Honestly, she hadn't noticed that at all; the only things consuming her mind at the time being how she was going to unite the people who looked like her friends and what was up with those news reports coming out of Sydney about the Kamen Rider.

She shook her head once more, sighing softly as she thought of those words. Kamen Rider, the words that had turned up nothing on the internet that was really of much interest...except the last entry. It was nothing much, just a news report with a remarkably blurry photograph of a figure who seemed to be wearing crazy armour punching at some sort of silvery creature. Maybe whoever was under the suit could help her against the Sirens but she needed to know if he, or she, could be trusted. As if reading her thoughts, Spike snorted and shook his head.

"Ah, don't worry about that Twi; I'm sure that mysterious Kamen Rider will reveal him or herself sooner or later."

"Kamen Rider? What the hay is that?"

Billy shook his head at the semi-unfamiliar term. He had heard of the title before as Dex had explained a long while ago that the Masked Rider Warriors were once known as the Kamen Riders before the arrival of Count Dregon. He doubted anyone using the term Kamen Rider would be aware of the history behind it but he was acutely aware that things differed between dimensions. There was even an extremely small chance that his dimensional counterpart was the one behind the mask. Rolling his eyes, he helped Twilight push one of the side bolts back into alignment before taking a moment to flip through the journal as Twilight began explaining to the others what the portal was supposed to do.

The amount of detail Sunset Shimmer had managed to recall and send through was utterly astounding and gave him a new insight into what life was like before Discord had ruled Canterlot. It also gave him an eyeful into the ways Princess Celestia could explain what could happen between two mares and, if he hadn't been unaffected by Love Tick's spell, he would have torn his eyes out for sure. Closing the journal and setting it back onto the pedestal, he stepped back as Pinkie appeared in front of him with a silly grin on her face. Resisting the urge to flick her forehead, he watched to see how the device was activated...but was stopped from a voice from the doorway.

"Did you just say Kamen Rider...?"

The former King Sombra stood in the doorway, large patches of bandages covering the still-tender areas of his body where his fur had yet to grow back. His mane still looked like someone had cut it while drunk but the look in his eyes was filled with concern and a vast amount of worry. Setting the journal back onto the table, Twilight looked at him in shock and wonder, curious to know how he had come across that name. Sombra shook his head and looked at the communicator above his hoof; still marvelling that it was still intact and working after being so close to the Destruction Beast of Fire. While the last communiqué with his wife had been shaky and sporadic, he was amazed to learn that she had managed to temporarily transform herself into a humanoid form with the help from the Elder and she would be accompanying the two Riders with their team to investigate a strange energy surge halfway around the world.

"I have heard of the Kamen Rider from my comrades who have been stuck in his dimension for quite a while. Time moves very differently there and, from what I have come to understand, it is in what we would call the future. I am unsure as to who is underneath the mask but I do know that he is a staunch protector of all life."

Sombra closed his mouth and thought of where his wife and the Riders were headed, coincidentally the same place young Twilight was about to journey to. He had studied the workings and texts of Starswirl the Bearded and had even given sage advice to the mighty Unicorn but he was totally in the dark to understand how something of this magnitude could happen. If he were a betting pony, he would have said it was fate; that their dimensions were destined to meet in this fashion...but that left an oddly contrived taste in his mouth. Starburst had informed him that she felt something was coming, something that would leave a much greater impact on the world than the surprise appearance of one of his greatest foes. He also had gained more knowledge of the timeline it possessed and where the variation had originated from.

From his conversations with the Orange Ranger of their dimension, he was aware that the final battle of the first campaign had ended with something that had been foretold but, at the same time, was extremely shocking and terrifying – the destruction of the Ultra Crystals. After some power affirmation and individual action, they had been restored and, with them, Weihan had been granted the use of the extremely powerful Tri-Spino Dragon Battlizer to finish off Xonix. One thrust was all it took for the first reign of terror to come to an end but the Orange Ranger had always wondered what would have happened if he had allowed himself a brief moment of indulgence and had channelled more energy into the Raptor Blazer than necessary. Sombra knew what would have happened and it was the world Twilight was about to set hoof in once more. Taking his silence as a sign to continue, Twilight nodded once and tried to put the strange words out of her mind.

"Let's see if it works."

Gently levitating the journal to her once more, Twilight started at the Cutie Mark on the front cover before lifting it into place between the two 'bookends' on top of the device. A large ball of purple-white energy emerged from the book and split into two, each tendril arcing to antennae that transformed the whirling magic into something that looked extremely similar to stretched taffy. The magic flowed though twin rolling pins and into cables that connected with the base of the Mirror of Traverse, pushing aside the hidden locks and barriers so the transportation spell could reactivate. As the portal sprang to life once more, Twilight looked at it with a mix of amazement and fear; however, the fear was soon pushed aside by sheer excitement. Already having explained to the others why they couldn't come along, she looked at Spike and nodded once.

It was time to go back.

TBC...


	40. Same but Different

AN: Well damn, here's something I didn't think I'd be writing so soon after the last one. These chapters haven't really been written out yet but I have everything blocked out in both stories. Everything will make sense in the end. Merry Xmas/Happy New Year (depending on when I post this)!

Equestria 101 – Same but Different

"Are they all right?"

Twilight nodded mutely, still staring in shock at the person in front of her. She recalled the words of Sombra, stating that time in this world flowed much differently but there was no denying the fact that in front of her was an aged-up version of Weihan Liang, the Orange Ultra Ranger. Of course, he hadn't used his Ultra Crystal in the earlier stand-off against the creature that called itself the Siren Wraith; instead opting to morph by way of a strange device on his waist and a spherical crystal. The woman that had been with him had also transformed with a belt and a card but she hadn't looked like any Ranger she knew of. Wringing her hands, she looked out the nearby window to see her friends talking with the entourage that had come with the two of them, telling them what happened during the climax of the Battle of the Bands.

Everything she thought she knew was all wrong but she clung to the fact that she was in a different dimension like a life preserver; it was the only thing stopping her from demanding to know exactly what was going on. To his credit, Spike seemed to be taking the new arrivals rather well and was curled up in a nearby corner, seemingly asleep. His only question had been to wonder when that Wraith would be back but he had been placated by the answer. However, the Purple Ranger wouldn't be as easily swayed by his words unless she had proof that he was the same Weihan she knew. As if reading her mind, the man issued a short chuckle and sat down on one of the abandoned chairs.

"Twilight, I assure you that I am practically the same guy as you, uh, know; just older and a hell of a lot wiser in some things. I can explain practically everything as well from the Wraiths to the powers and why I travel around with such a large group of 'support staff'. Just let me get my thoughts in order first."

At her nod, Weihan closed his eyes and grumbled internally to himself. It had mostly been at his insistence that Gaby allowed him to travel to Canterlotia in the first place to investigate what the Sunset Wraith had told him months ago but he certainly hadn't expected she would get the last word in by bringing Serena and the RAT along for the ride. On the other hand, his boss had been questioning his activities when he was out of the office since the Blob Wraith had been destroyed by the Crocodile Ninjetti on what was supposed to have been his 'off' day. The fact that he had taken a few moments to escape the fight and answer his ringing phone while still out of breath hadn't been a smart idea at the time but he didn't think she would have liked it if he ignored the calls again. Then again, the excuse he had made probably didn't help matters.

His Ultra Crystal was starting to come to the forefront more and more and he had noticed that. Hell, Connor had noticed that and he hadn't seen him against the Dino Wraith weeks later. Down the road, he knew he would need to make a choice as to what to do with his Ranger Powers and investigate the rate that they were merging with the System. His fight with Jabarkas months ago had proved that he could summon any one of his Ultra weapons in his Rider form and they possessed the same amount of strength and power as they would have normally. Honestly, if he wasn't paying attention during battles, he would always pull out his Raptor Sabre due to force of habit. And, in the middle of this, life had thrown him yet another curveball with the knowledge of a human Canterlot complete with human versions of rather familiar ponies. He was rather glad that there was a somewhat large age gap between himself and the human Fluttershy, although she had been giving him the same stares her pony counterpart had given him. Actually, now that he thought about it, the girl with the red and yellow hair had been looking at him the same way...

"All right, I guess it all happened after the destruction of Xonix a long while ago. The Ultra Crystals remained shattered and we all went our separate ways after school, though a few of us still keep in contact. A few years after that, I found out that, although my crystal was shattered, I still had enough of a connection to the Grid that I could transform into one or two Ranger forms but, as there were no evils strong enough that I needed to step in personally, I stayed out of the fighting and leant my expertise to various companies including Bio-Lab. However, everything changed a few months ago."

Twilight narrowed her eyebrows as she tried to take all of the information in. Apparently in this dimension, Xonix didn't escape to Equestria and become Night Shade as he had been too badly damaged by Weihan's Battlized form. What that meant for the Equestria he could contact was totally beyond her understanding but, on the positive side, it meant that he hadn't unleashed the Destruction Beasts and forced Ponyville to turn into the mini-fortress it had been since the first attack. On the other hoof, she didn't know what manner of horror Discord or even Zedd had unleashed and without the might of the Ultra Rangers to back them up...

"I don't understand. Xonix was destroyed and you lost your powers but why are you able to morph now? What about Equestria, is it safe? Why and how are you able to morph now? Who are those people with you and, apart from AJ, do they know anything of your past battles?"

Weihan held up his hands in a gesture of surrender as he tried to think about which question to answer first. A simple explanation would be for him to take her to the Ultra Cavern and allow Princess Celestia to tell her everything that had happened in their version of Equestria but there was always a fear of saying too much. Of course, the fact that she sounded exactly as she had about a decade ago...before Discord had unleashed the Acid Swarm. He decided not to tell her about that little bit of information as it would more than likely give her nightmares that the version of him that she knew would have to deal with. Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by the nearby door opening and Serena sticking her head through, a disgruntled look on her face.

"Gaby's pretty insistent that we come back but has 'requested' that you stay here in case that Wraith shows up again. She also wants a report about what happened during the battle with the monster...and she wants to talk to the supposed consultants as well. Those three are in the nearby hospital for overnight observation and will be released in the morning. We'll be heading off in a bit."

Rolling his eyes, he snorted once and nodded as Serena left. Opening his mouth to call out for her to close the door, he was not prepared as the other six people he had seen Twilight with earlier filed into the room and looked expectantly at him. Dropping his head and muttering an Eltarean curse under his breath, he waited until the RAT were out of hearing range before reaching out with his magic to close the door.

"Wait; you can use magic? It's not Equestrian magic though..."

"No, it's not Equestrian magic. It comes from a far more ancient source than that but I'm getting too far ahead. Make yourselves comfy, this is going to take a while."

Twilight gestured to the others to take seats around Weihan as he gathered his thoughts for the explanation. During both visits to this dimension, she hadn't used the Dragonfire Gem to morph but she had a strange feeling that would all change soon enough. The Siren Wraith, for the brief amount of time she had seen it, was immensely powerful and she doubted the musical magic would be enough to destroy it. That only left her with one option...and it was one that she wanted to delay for as long as possible to avoid tainting her friends' opinion of her. However, deep in her heart, she knew that it had to be done to ensure the safety and security of this dimension. She was a Power Ranger first and foremost and, if the time came, she would stand up and get her hooves dirty to defend the peace and stability of this dimension.

"The Equestria I am able to contact would possibly be much different than the one you came from. For starters, Lord Zedd was destroyed during the final battle and Discord was able to completely merge with the Dark Crystal. He lay low for a year or so before attacking Canterlot and Ponyville in a lightning quick but brutal attack, razing them to the ground and forcing everyone to take refuge in the Crystal Empire. It's only been in the past few weeks that they've been able to successfully take back Canterlot...but Discord has wiped Ponyville off the map. The other good part is that Billy has managed to create a second set of Zords to use, based on the creatures that lived in the Everfree Forest."

Sunset Shimmer took in the information silently. She knew who the man in front of her was and, even though there was an extremely large age gap between them, she couldn't help but be drawn to him. Of course, she had no idea why the self-proclaimed Kamen Rider of Sydney would be talking about Zords or Dark Crystals unless it was something to do with the Wraiths but, apart from the Siren Wraith that had just appeared, she had never seen one up close and personal. The knowledge that Canterlot and Ponyville had been destroyed was mildly distressing to her but, being from an alternate dimension herself, she knew that things could happen that wouldn't necessarily impact the 'main' dimension. There were still things that nagged at the back of her mind, such as the purple aura of power that she had sensed in her demonic form that had radiated around Twilight and the fact that the same power came off Twilight's bracelet but that all paled in comparison to the words that came next.

"I was chosen by Australasia Worldwide to become their Kamen Rider but, at the same time, I was warned by Zordon that a greater threat lay on the horizon; one that would need the Ultra Rangers to defend against. Using that as an impetus, he recreated my Ultra Crystal and my Rider System is merging into it slowly. My main enemies are the Wraiths, led by Bloodless Mary: a centuries-old sorceress who seeks revenge for a slew of crimes and injustices committed by the men of her time. Why she has to conquer the world to gain her peace is beyond me but, as your friends can tell you, she isn't content to attack the same place."

Twilight nodded again, silently wondering what would happen to her friends over the next couple of days. Now that the Sirens had been dealt with, the best thing to do would be for her and Spike to go back to Equestria...but that was before she had seen the terrifying power of the Siren Wraith and, in turn, saw the amount of force that was needed to force it into a retreat. She couldn't go back now, not when there was a threat to the world on the loose. Opening her mouth to agree with his sentiment, she snapped it shut with an audible click as an extremely chilling thought wormed to the forefront of her mind. The portal to Equestria was still open. It would continue to stay open unless it was closed off from the Equestrian side but if this Wraith got to it first...

"Look, Twilight, I know this is a damn lot for you to take in at once and, if you're anything like the Twilight I know, you need a bit of time to think about what you've heard. I doubt it'll attack again so soon and I'm sure your friends want to get some rest."

Weihan stood up, rifling in his pockets for the keys to the rental house. He would be opposite the school if something happened; even though he had thought it borderline creepy that he could open the curtains and see schoolgirls walking past. Even so, he knew there were things he needed to do before he called it a night but thinking about the girl with the flaming hair certainly wasn't one of them. Well, if she wasn't about a decade younger than him...but he was mentally getting off topic. Silently wondering how many times that night he would get off topic, he shook his head and looked out the window at the silent city.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

TBC...


End file.
